HALIFAX: If people are looking for answers to the cost-of-living crisis in our province, they won’t find it in the Houston government’s inaugural budget.
Despite projecting a $500 million deficit, those investments will do little to stem the tide of rising expenses and a slow-growing workforce in Nova Scotia.
“Let’s be clear, there are good things about this budget, like continuing with the Innovation Rebate Program our government created, and more money for recipients of the province’s child benefit program. But to call this a ‘compassionate budget’ when it does nothing to protect the wallets of most Nova Scotians, is a complete misnomer,” says Liberal Leader Iain Rankin.
“Living in our province right now is the most expensive it’s been in decades and yet this government is cutting economic spending by over $50 million.”
The Houston government has made zero progress on its two signature economic promises, the Better Pay Cheque Guarantee and the Nova Scotia Loyal program. Their economic recovery plan seems to rest on little more than a hope and a prayer.
“You’d think if there was any time to introduce programs aimed to jumpstart our economy, a cost-of-living crisis would be the time to do it,” says Rankin.
Supports for small businesses, first-time home buyers, people on income assistance, people struggling to pay for gas and food – the one in six Nova Scotian families who sometimes go hungry – are nowhere to be found in Premier Houston’s budget.
The government’s solution to the affordability crisis? Spend less, fudge promises, and hope no one notices, said Rankin.
