A day after Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston walked back tens of millions in budget cuts and apologized to those impacted, he is vowing to do things differently next time – and that could mean a budget tour of the province. The Houston government initially announced it would cut funding to organizations and programming that impacted seniors and people living with disabilities, as well as Indigenous and African Nova Scotian student support programming. The province said Tuesday it would reverse $53.6 million of the $130 million planned budget cuts, with Houston admitting his government “got it wrong.” “In trying to respond to the financial challenges, we moved too quickly in areas that affect people’s daily lives,” said Houston. “And for that, I am sorry.” Following his apology, Houston told reporters he would improve the budget process next time, so cuts don’t impact the most vulnerable Nova Scotians. “We’ll do a pretty significant debrief on this to make sure we get it right,” he said. The premier floated the idea of doing a “financial pressures tour” ahead of the next budget to hear directly from Nova Scotians, so government doesn’t make the same mistakes again. “To listen to them and talk to them about the challenges we face,” said Houston. “To listen to their ideas and solutions. I think there’s a lot of brain power in the province and I think we can activate it more fully towards the challenges we face.” Several days of protests over the cuts forced the closure of Granville Street outside the legislature in Halifax at times, as people called for the $130 million in cuts to be reversed. Families who care for loved ones with disabilities shared their personal stories and how the proposed cuts would affect them. And while many are grateful some cuts will be reversed, some are still shaken by the government’s initial plan to pull funding. “We should have never have had to fight so hard to have our voices heard in the first place and it should not take public outrage to get answers,” said Brittany Aucoin, who cares full-time for her sister Katrina, who has Down syndrome. The opposition says government should go further and reverse the entire $130 million in cuts. “They need to start listening to experts before they make decisions and not just listen to their political campaign cabinet,” said NDP Leader Claudia Chender. “Otherwise, you have what you have seen in this chaotic budget session, which is a ton of cuts that hurt the most vulnerable Nova Scotians.” The province is facing a $1.24-billion deficit and the debate over the budget continues at Province House. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
