B.C. government to release fiscal update on July 14 showing pandemic's impact

The B.C. government will provide a financial update next month outlining the unprecedented economic challenge the province is enduring during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finance Minister Carole James says she will provide the update on July 14 and it will show the province's economy has been "hugely hit" by the pandemic.

B.C. politicians returned to the legislature today to start a summer session with a much different format than the usual face-to-face political debates.

Physical distancing requirements mean the 87-member chamber is limited to 24 politicians, and media interviews are being done online.

James says the update will include B.C.'s jobless numbers from June, the most recent revenue estimates and data from the federal government's fiscal update.

Opposition Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson says the numbers James tabled in the government's budget last February have been torn apart by the pandemic and people need to know the state of B.C.'s finances.

NDP house leader Mike Farnworth says the government must pass the budget, despite the pandemic.

Speaker Darryl Plecas, who was inside the legislature, says today's events are the first time in history the majority of members are conducting business from outside of the chamber.