Instead he said he plans to make the most of a potential bumper surplus, undeterred by a slim growth forecast.
He said the New Democrat government’s priorities are the same as those of B.C. residents—affordability, cost of living, public safety, health care and housing.
The government’s most recent economic update forecasts a budget surplus of $5.7 billion this year, a huge turnaround from the original $5.5 billion deficit projection.
But economic growth of less than one per cent is forecast for 2023.
He previously served as NDP housing minister and attorney general, having made his name as a political giant killer in 2013 for toppling former premier Christy Clark in the riding of Vancouver-Point Grey.
The coming year will see the government introduce a budget and legislation with spending to help people in tough times, he said.
“We'll be focused on doing what we can to drive down those daily costs wherever possible.”
There would also be measures to tackle food, energy and housing costs, he said, adding that health care and public safety are also on the agenda for 2023.
“Certainly, British Columbians should expect to see more initiatives in the legislature related to their priorities, related to housing, related to health care and public safety,” he said.
“The budget initiatives, the initiatives in the legislature, are all informed by these priorities and that will continue to be the government’s focus.”
“These are the kinds of opportunities we’re looking for and you'll see both in our use of the surplus and in our approach to the budget,” he said.
The Downtown Eastside is “ground zero” for B.C.’s housing, mental health and addiction crisis, but it is far from the only area of concern, he said.
“It also means co-ordination that we all are working together so that permitting processes and the logistics of getting those spaces open happen as quickly as possible and we treat this as the emergency it is,” he said.
“For the Downtown Eastside, specifically, our immediate goal is the closure of the encampments in CRAB Park and along Hastings Street in a way that respects the human dignity of the people who are living outside,” he said.
“When we’re able to get through that phase, we'll be looking at the long-term future of the neighbourhood, the elimination of residential hotels as a housing type.”
“Not a single British Columbian said to me what B.C. needs right now is a provincial election,” he said.