From Consultation to Action: The Finance Committee’s Budget 2027 Report

MLA Donegal Wilson participates in a meeting of the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services during the Budget 2027 consultation process.

The Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services has released its final report and recommendations for Budget 2027, marking the conclusion of an extensive public consultation process.

As Deputy Chair of the Committee, I appreciated the opportunity to be part of this work and to hear directly from British Columbians about their priorities, challenges and ideas for our province.

First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who participated.

Individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations, local governments, community groups and many others took the time to prepare presentations and written submissions. For many, appearing before a legislative committee is not something they do every day. It takes time to gather information, prepare recommendations and explain clearly what is happening in your community or sector.

That effort matters.

The public consultation process gives MLAs an opportunity to hear directly from people across British Columbia about what is working, what is not, and where government investment or policy changes could make a meaningful difference.

Once the public hearings concluded, the next stage of our work began.

The Committee had to take everything we heard and work through it together to identify the recommendations we believed should be brought forward to government. I appreciated the deliberations with my colleagues as we worked through an enormous amount of information and considered how best to reflect what British Columbians told us.

One of our priorities was ensuring that the recommendations in the final report were actionable.

There is always a temptation with a report of this size to include every good idea that was presented. The challenge is that a recommendation only has value if government can understand what is being asked and has a realistic opportunity to act on it.

Even getting the final report down to 81 recommendations was difficult. There were many worthwhile priorities brought forward throughout the consultation. But we also wanted to provide government with a focused set of recommendations that Ministries could realistically review, incorporate into their planning and, ultimately, implement.

For me, that is an important part of this process.

A legislative committee report should not simply be something that is tabled, acknowledged and placed on a shelf. The real value comes from what happens next.

My hope is that every Ministry takes the time to review this report and consider the recommendations that fall within its area of responsibility as work begins on next year’s provincial budget.

Behind each recommendation are the voices of British Columbians who took the time to participate in this process. They shared their experiences because they want to see government make better decisions and because they believe their perspective can contribute to building a stronger province.

Not every request or idea can ultimately be funded, and government will always have difficult choices to make about priorities and available resources. But the public consultation process provides valuable information to help inform those choices.

Now it is up to government to carefully consider what British Columbians told us and determine how those recommendations can be reflected in Budget 2027.

Thank you again to everyone who participated, to the legislative staff who supported this extensive process, and to my Committee colleagues for the thoughtful deliberations that went into producing the final report.

I appreciated the opportunity to serve as Deputy Chair through this process, and I look forward to seeing how the recommendations are reflected in the budget decisions ahead.

Read the full report: Consultation on the 2027 Budget – Report and Recommendations