ENFIELD: A multitude of issues face the current provincial government and the Liberal opposition plan to hold the government accountable, the Leader of the party said.
During a stop in Enfield recently, Zach Churchill took some time to sit down at the East Hants & District Chamber of Commerce to answer questions from the Laker News.
Prior to the interview, Churchill visited the current Corridor Community Options for Adults in Enfield and their soon to be new location under construction in the Elmsdale Business Park; stopped at the East Hants Family Resource Centre; and made a donation to the volunteers at the Giving Pantry located at the Cup of Soul in Elmsdale.
After the interview he was meeting with board members from the Chamber of Commerce.
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Churchill was asked about his comments calling the provinces purchase of 200 Pallet Sheds, 19 of which are to go those unhoused at Beacon House, as catastrophic.
“We’ve had multiple people that have died living on the street here in Nova Scotia, and we know that the situation with homelessness is going to get worse,” said Churchill. “The fact is that the government failed to act in the summer when it was warm and people from the advocacy community were saying the population of those dealing with homelessness has doubled.
“We have to act now before the cold winter months come. And the Progressive Conservatives waited until late November to take any action.
“Now people aren’t going to get these pallet shelters until well into March, by the sounds of it.
“It’s a scary situation out there for people, and it’s not just those dealing with really acute mental health or addiction issues. There’s working people who are finding themselves homeless now because housing and rent has become so unaffordable here in, in Nova Scotia.”
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He was asked that many Nova Scotians see those not in government criticizing every move the government makes, but without much of a suggestion or plan on what they would do.
Churchill was asked how his party would address the many issues in N.S., fix them, or at least show evidence they are working on solutions so residents could have confidence and trust.
“Nova Scotia has had tremendous population growth. (Premier) Tim Houston is getting more tax dollars than any other premier that I can remember in my lifetime,” said Churchill. “People’s taxes have gone up, and with the population growth, we think it’s time that he can give some of those tax dollars back to people.
“We’ve been advocating for an income tax cut so that everyday Nova Scotians, those working families, middle class people can have more money in their pockets to get by and make ends meet.
“We think it’s time to actually reduce taxes in Nova Scotia. We’ve had the highest taxes in the country. I think people are okay with that when the cost of everything else was low. But we’ve gone from being one of the most affordable places to live in the country to one of the least affordable in just over two and a half years.
He said it’s time that, at the very least, the provinces starts looking at tax reductions here in Nova Scotia.
“We can’t have the highest rent, we can’t have the highest inflationary increases in the country and still have the highest taxes,’ said Churchill.
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Churchill was asked about some of the issues he’s been hearing about specific to East Hants.
“There’s a lot of housing development here, but we also need to make sure that there’s, wastewater capacity, that there’s public transportation and that we’re able to accommodate the, the growth that’s happening,” he said.
“There does need to be a plan for that. That’s what I’m hearing in the area here.”
He was also to meet with the East Hants & District Chamber of Commerce where he would be discussing issues from the business community.
“I want to know what’s going on from a business perspective in the area and where their challenges are,” he said.
“We know that labor is a big issue and finding people to work, particularly in small businesses like retail and restaurants, and that the cost pressures that our businesses are experiencing are putting pressure on them.”
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He was asked about what appears to be a ramp up in criticizing of the provincial government not only by the Liberals but the NDP as well. It feels like the parties may be gearing up for an election that may come before 2025.
“It’s because people are dealing with big issues right now, and they need the government to take action,’ he said. “We’ve got a housing crisis. We’ve had the amount of people who are living homeless right now double in the last two years.
“Our health care system is getting worse by every stat that you look at. And cost of living is putting the crunch on every single working family and middle- and low-income Nova Scotian.
“We have to step up right now because we need to push this government to act on these issues that are so critical for people’s well-being and ability to live and thrive in the province.
“I do think that they’re failing on a lot of fronts.”
