Mason writes " There isn’t a political party alive that would have the audacity to make the kind of deep, permanent cuts to government staff and services that would allow the province’s books to be balanced in a shorter time period than the one being proposed by the NDP. The lawn of the legislature would be filled with people bearing torches and pitchforks."???

Mason being from BC should know that is not true.  Following the disaster of the BC NDP Barrett government and worldwide economic woes coupled with resource price drops, the Bill Bennett led Socreds instituted the tough Restraint Program and then faced down the people on the lawns of the legislature carrying pitchforks including the unions who instituted a general strike.

Fast forward a quarter century following the disasters of the Harcourt/Clark/Miller/Dosanjh BC NDP and the Gordon Campbell Liberals did much the same as Bennett.  And Premier Christy Clark continues to curb spending and deliver balanced budgets. It is doable.