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Boos rained down on Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston as he addressed the crowd at an African Heritage Month gala in Halifax Saturday night, attempting to quell concerns about budget cuts.
“If we’ve made changes that are causing harm or having unintended consequences, it’s OK, we need to hear that directly,” Houston said in remarks widely circulated on social media.
Houston’s Progressive Conservative government tabled a budget Monday that includes a deficit of $1.2 billion and contains cuts to upwards of 1,000 full-time equivalent positions across the public service and $130 million in grants across a variety of government departments, including programs aimed at Black and African Nova Scotia communities.
On Friday at the legislature, NDP MLA Suzy Hansen said communities were “blindsided” by the cuts.
“They didn’t even know that these programs and this funding was going to be cut,” she told reporters.
“I think the consultation should have happened before.”
Houston addressed those concerns during his speech on Saturday, saying he has a responsibility to manage the finances of the province and he takes that duty on knowing that there’s a way to do it “but not diminish our commitment to equity.”
“There’ll be lots of time, folks, I’ll be happy to chat with anyone,” the premier said as he persevered through jeering to read from prepared remarks.
“As a government, as a government we remain committed to supporting increased educational outcomes for African Nova Scotia communities. We remain committed to creating employment opportunities for African Nova Scotia communities and we remain committed to supporting the improved health outcomes in African Nova Scotia communities.”
Houston said that if adjustments are needed, he and members of his cabinet will listen.
“Minister Grosse will listen,” he said, referring to African Nova Scotian Affairs Minister Twila Grosse.
“Minister Grosse is committed to community and understands the weight of these decisions. But as a government we know that compassion is measured by what we do in tough times, not just by what we say in easy times.”
Community needs explanation: NDP
Grosse told reporters at Province House on Friday that, as a member of the African Nova Scotian community, she understands and feels the impacts of the cuts.
“But my department, ANSA, will work in community to provide support and find efficiencies during this difficult time” and minimize impacts, she said.
“We also remain committed to listening, engaging and serving our community with integrity.”
Hansen said that communities affected by the cuts are owed an explanation, something some government members have struggled to provide so far. The MLA for Halifax Needham said she’s been hearing from people about the potential implications of the budget cuts.
“When you cut funding for scholarships, for health programs, for summer programs for our African Nova Scotian youth — I mean, that’s detrimental,” said Hansen.
“That creates huge impacts for our communities moving forward and the government is going to have a long way to go to repair that trust.”
Ryan Somers, who was working at the event as a DJ, took one of the videos that is making the rounds on social media. He said the reaction from the crowd was one of frustration.
“I’m sure there’s people in the crowd that know they don’t have a job anymore, or their job is about to end or their programs are going to be cut, so it’s going to cause chaos within their community,” he said.
Somers is also a teacher at Nova Scotia Community College and said he expects to be seeing the impact of some cuts first-hand.
More than $5 million in scholarship funding has been cut, and many African Nova Scotian students rely on the opportunities those scholarships afford, he said.
“I mean it was already bad, numbers-wise, getting representation from those communities,” Somers said. “But now it’s probably going to be non-existent.”
‘Deep concern’ over cuts
Houston’s speech came on the same day that a prominent member of his cabinet, Natural Resources Minister Kim Masland, took to social media to address budget cuts that are affecting her constituents in the electoral district of Queens.
“I know that this budget is difficult and understand the many impacts,” Masland wrote in a Facebook post, adding that she’s “spoken directly” with Houston and Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Barbara Adams to express her “deep concern and discuss solutions.”
“I put my name on the ballot in 2017 to improve the lives of those in my community, and to give a voice to others, especially our seniors.
“Serving the community means showing up during the good and bad times and that’s what I have always done and will continue to do. I will continue to advocate for our seniors and our community because I love and care for our people.”
The jeers were in response to the Houston government’s recent cuts to grants and services, including ones supporting Black and African Nova Scotian communities. The CBC’s Alex Guye has the story.
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