Budget 2018-19: Stronger Services and Supports in Southern Nova Scotia

Communities in southern Nova Scotia will benefit from investments in health care, education, early years, communities and the economy as part of Budget 2018-19.

Budget 2018-19 estimates a surplus of $29.4 million with revenue of $10.81 billion and expenses of $10.78 billion.

“With Budget 2018-19, we will recruit more doctors and improve access to health care, invest in classrooms and pre-primary, and support more Nova Scotians to participate fully in their communities and in the economy,” said Karen Casey, Minister of Finance and Treasury Board. “We want all Nova Scotians to have opportunities to grow and succeed. This budget supports that goal.”

Highlights in Budget 2018-19 for southern Nova Scotia include:

• road improvements to Highway 101 from Digby to Marshalltown
• bridge rehabilitation projects for Parks Creek, Lunenburg Co., and Abram’s River, Cape Forchu and Morris Island all in Yarmouth Co.
• renovations to Yarmouth Elementary school
• funding for new childcare centres in Lunenburg, Queens, Shelburne and Yarmouth
• restoration of the Perkins House Museum in Liverpool
• work on dialysis units at Digby General Hospital and South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater
• expansion of the emergency department and intensive care unit at South Shore Regional Hospital
• improvements to the primary health-care facility in Shelburne

Southern Nova Scotia will also benefit from provincewide investments including:

• $19.6 million in additional funding, as part of government’s multi-year plan to recruit, retain and train more doctors
• $8 million more for new and expanded collaborative-care teams across the province
• $8.8 million to provide 350 more hip and knee surgeries by hiring more surgeons and creating a central booking system
• increased funding for community-based, mental health supports
• $1.2 million increase in the Take Home Cancer Therapies program to help pay for medications
• $5.5 million more to help seniors stay in their homes longer, including more home care support and expanding the caregiver benefit program
• $15.5 million to add new child-care spaces and to offer more subsidies to make child care more accessible and affordable
• $17.6 million to add about 130 new pre-primary classes as part of a plan to have it available across the province
• $10 million increase to implement new recommendations from the Council to Improve Classroom Conditions
• $15 million to begin implementing recommendations from the Commission on Inclusive Education
• $1.6 million more to expand SchoolsPlus into 54 more schools for a total of $9.8 million
• $3.3 million increase to expand Reading Recovery to cover 96 per cent of schools this year, with every school having programming in 2019
• $16.2 million increase in Disability Support Program to help more people move into the community, to improve respite care, and to fund more complex client cases
• $3 million to double the poverty reduction credit to $500
• $3.4 million to fully exempt child-support payments from income assistance calculations
• $1.7 million to further expand Graduate to Opportunity to connect new university graduates to employers, with added incentives for hiring from underrepresented groups
• $500,000 more for incubators and accelerators, which support startup companies
• $2.5 million more for the Innovation Rebate Program to encourage private sector investment in capital projects
• $3 million for the new Building Tomorrow Fund to support innovation in agriculture, fisheries, and aquaculture sectors
• $5.8 million added to the Atlantic Fisheries Fund

Budget 2018-19 also includes the Capital Plan, which invests $605 million in roads, schools, health care and public infrastructure.

For more information about the 2018-2019 provincial budget, visit http://www.novascotia.ca/budget .