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<\/p>\nNova Scotia\u2019s finance minister has tabled a budget with a $1.2-billion deficit and warns that difficult decisions will need to be made to balance the books, which has opposition leaders wondering how the province will weather the next few years, financially.<\/p>\n
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The 2026-27 budget, which is titled \u201cDefending Nova Scotia,\u201d includes revenues of just over $17 billion and expenses of $18.9 billion.<\/p>\n
Finance Minister John Lohr says the province is focused on protecting core services for Nova Scotians, including $6.7 billion in health spending, which accounts for 35.5 per cent of the overall budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that the reality is that we continue to focus on health care. We need to continue to focus on health care and we are convinced that this will pay dividends in the future,\u201d he told reporters Monday.<\/p>\n
In order to contain expenses, the budget include a five-per cent yearly cut in the civil service and a three-per cent cut in public service and Crown corporations \u2014 all of which is projected to save $95 million. Lohr said government had to make \u201csome tough decisions\u201d and they started by \u201clooking inward.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe will work to ensure that core front-line services are protected and focused. Those reductions on management and administration, and we will manage through retirements and attrition as much as possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Some cuts have already started as the government announced last week it was closing three provincial museums as well as several tourist information centres.<\/p>\n
As well, the province will be reducing grants to organizations to the tune of $130.4 million.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThese are difficult decisions. We did not make them lightly. I know this will have a major impact on some organizations, and that will be hard. But these are decisions we had to make in order to protect the core services Nova Scotians rely on.\u201d<\/p>\n
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But opposition leaders argue government\u2019s decisions are harming Nova Scotians.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we see are cuts across the board and increases in ministerial and political budgets to help them manage this storm. This is completely unacceptable,\u201d said NDP Leader Claudia Chender<\/p>\n
\u201cAcross the sectors that are most valuable to Nova Scotians are traditional industries, our arts and culture, our science, our management. We see massive cuts and no explanation of where we will get back to balance.\u201d<\/p>\n
She went on to say that Houston\u2019s PC government inherited a balanced budget and an \u201cunprecedented amount of revenue\u201d in their five years in power, but alleges that the money has been \u201csquandered.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cWhat we see today, five years later, is not many results. We don\u2019t see an improvement to people\u2019s cost of living. Power bills cost $400 more a month for the average family. Housing is out of control. And yet, we\u2019re told that Nova Scotians need to sacrifice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to see job losses. We\u2019re going to be seeing significant losses to community programs \u2026 Nova Scotians do not deserve to pay for the mistakes that this government has made.\u201d<\/p>\n
Interim Liberal Leader Iain Rankin said the cuts in the budget will have ramifications.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t cut 20 per cent of the government and expect no impacts to services,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not waste that they\u2019re cutting here. These are Nova Scotians working on important policy and it will impact services undoubtedly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rankin went on to say government has backed themselves into a corner despite the fact the economy is growing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re reducing the public service and they are reducing services, ultimately.\u201d<\/p>\n
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