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Back to balance
Heather MacAdam, heathermacadam@thecasket.ca
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Finance Minister Graham Steele was at the Keating Centre last week as part of his Back to Balance tour. (Heather MacAdam photo)
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Local residents were given a chance to voice their opinions on how to get the province’s books back on the plus side during an interactive meeting last week.
Finance Minister Graham Steele was at the Keating Centre as part of his Back to Balance tour.
At each Back to Balance session, Steele gives a short presentation lays out the province’s financial situation. Participants are broken into small groups and asked to answer four. Questions related to how government should increase revenues and reduce spending, what changes should be made to programs and services, what investments should be made to grow the economy and how soon government should bring Nova Scotia’s finances back to balance.
Each group has an opportunity to present their recommendations to the larger group.
Steele said Nova Scotia is on an “unsustainable financial path” and that some difficult choices have to be made. However, he said there is more than one way for Nova Scotia to balance its books.
“We could go into back rooms and office towers in downtown Halifax and just emerge later and announce what our decisions are,” he said. “But we thought it was really better to go out, talk to people, see what their views are, see if there’s a consensus around the province about the best path for us.”
He said the tour aims to take advantage of the “collective wisdom of Nova Scotians.”
Antigonish was the fourth stop on the tour, with the first sessions taking place in Whitney Pier, Port Hawkesbury and Bridgewater.
“All of the public meetings have been big successes – we’re really pleased with the way things are going.”
The numbers have been great and those who attend are very engaged, he said.
Steele said it’s too early in the tour to talk about exactly what issues and ideas are consistently emerging.
One question Steele said he is raising at each session is the possibility of raising the HST – something the province’s economic advisory panel advised them to do.
“What I have learned is there is significant public support for that,” he said. “We have a budget deficit – a large one – and it’s growing. It needs to be closed if our government is going to be strong. People seem to accept that an increase in the HST is one way to do that.”
An idea that came up at one session which Steele said he had never thought of was putting a time limit on the HST increase.
“That doesn’t mean, necessarily, that we could implement that, but it’s an idea that deserves a very serious look.”
The issue of gas taxation has been brought up at several meetings, Steele said.
“In some sessions, some of the small working groups have come back with the suggestions to increase the gas tax – that’s happened twice so far. It’s been very clear in the public sessions that that idea does not have public support.”
Steele added last week Liberal leader Stephen McNeil released a statement proposing to remove the “tax on tax.”
“Currently, HST is calculated after the province adds its motive fuel tax of 15.5 cents per litre,” McNeil said in a release. “This ‘piggybacking’ of the taxes amounts to more than 3 cents per litre.”
Steele said this is an idea that is “certainly worth looking at.”
“In these economic times, it’s not easy to actually cut your revenue source which is going to make your deficit bigger. For Stephen McNeil or anybody else who suggests that we cut revenue, I have to ask them … if you’re going to ask us to cut revenue, you also have to identify which government services and programs you want cut, because that money does go to pay for something.”
McNeil said he thinks the Back to Balance meetings won't change much about the province's finances.
"That budget is practically written," he said.
He said people just listen to Steele and don't have much input.
"No one has an opportunity to ask any questions directly of the minister," he said. "That's not a public consultation in my mind."
Michel de Noncourt attended the meeting and said it was well organized and also well attended. He said he learned a lot and suggested local MLA Maurice Smith do a mail out featuring the kind of facts discussed at the meeting.
“We need this information at this time on our door step to understand what is at stake when the government talk about deficit and balancing figures,” he said.
de Noncourt said he liked the format of the meeting, which included breaking into groups to come with ideas of how to deal with provinces finances.
“People at our table had so many constructive angles to bring up and were all in favour of helping the Back to Balance situation instead of criticizing it negatively,” he said. “Not one bad comment came up.”
This type of meeting should happen more often, he said, as it brings responsibility into people's mind instead of a feeling of helplessness.
“I thought the minister had a direct connection with the real feelings of people,” he said.
Mary Jess MacDonald also attended the session.
As chair of the Strait Regional School Board, MacDonald said she wants to ensure the importance of the public education to the economy of our region is considered.
“With investment in our public school system, which provides strong student achievement, we can prevent health problem increases, justice problem increases, community services problem increases with collaborative initiatives among the four departments,” she said.
Investment in the public school system also creates citizens who are able to continue their post secondary education to be able to make contributions to the economy of our area, she said.
“I see it as a priority investment – our children and youth are the most valuable renewable resource in the province.”
Discussions among various sectors of the community are always healthy, she added, and it is useful for our MLAs and ministers to hear the perspectives as they have their future deliberations.
Janet MacDonald said she was glad she took part in the Getting Back to Balance event.
“It was good to hear from the minister and other people in our community,” she said.
However, she encouraged MLAs too seek out representatives of those groups who were not well represented at the gathering.
“Such as those struggling with issues of poverty, lack of affordable housing, access to education, healthcare and resources for victims of violence.”
A summary will be comprised of each of the 17 sessions, Steele said, and overall report will be done at the conclusion of the tour. There is also a chance for Nova Scotians to submit their views on line via the Back to Balance website at www.gov.ns.ca/finance/backtobalance.
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