REALITY CHECK: Nova Scotians aren’t “excited” about Tim Houston’s budget

HALIFAX – While Premier Tim Houston says he’s “very excited about the future of this province,” the Nova Scotians impacted by his government’s cruel cuts are struggling with the present.

• Houston might be happy with his budget, but Nova Scotians aren’t, including:
• Nova Scotians who are paying $5,700 more in rent and $400 more in power each year since this government came to power;
• Women and gender-diverse people who still can’t access basic health services like mammograms and endometriosis care;
• Parents who spend double what parents in PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Quebec do for child care;
• Students who depend on their free transit passes to get to school;
• The thousands of public sector workers who will lose their jobs over the next three years;
• Arts, culture, and tourism workers whose livelihoods are on the line after this government decimated grant funding, museums, and visitor information centres.
• Cuts that impact vital food security support for Nova Scotians.

“Real harm has been done by these cruel cuts and the worst part is this government still can’t explain the impact or decisions behind them. Families are losing sleep, people have lost their jobs, and others are worried about their livelihoods,” said NSNDP Ethics and Accountability Critic Paul Wozney. “Houston created this mess by racking up the biggest deficit in our province’s history, and now he’s telling Nova Scotians to be happy with what they’ve got and do more with less. He’s decimating entire sectors – economic drivers for our province – and refusing to deal with the ever-growing cost of living for Nova Scotian families. Tim Houston needs to get serious about delivering for Nova Scotians.”

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