Finance Minister Michael de Jong is inviting central Vancouver Island residents to participate in a regional telephone town hall on balancing the 2013-14 provincial budget and supporting affordability for B.C. families.

The telephone town hall is the second of a series that will give British Columbians a further opportunity to discuss their priorities for the budget and ask questions of the finance minister.

The telephone town hall will dial approximately 50,000 numbers on Vancouver Island.

When: 7 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012

How do you participate?

If you have a publicly listed telephone number, you will receive a call at home in the early evening of the day when your regional telephone town hall is being held. A recorded message will ask if you are interested in attending the tele-town hall. If you would like to participate, stay on the line and follow the instructions given in the message.

If you do not want to participate, just hang up.

If you stay on the call, there may be a short wait until the call formally begins, or you will be placed into the town hall if it is already underway. A moderator will introduce the call, provide the instructions for participation and describe how you can ask a question, then prompt the next caller when it is their turn to ask a question.

We hope you'll take part in this important public consultation.

Media Contact:

Jamie Edwardson
Director of Communications
Ministry of Finance
250 356-2821