Steele on education cont'd
The province’s new P–12 education plan, Kids and Learning
First, will better prepare students for post-secondary education,
good jobs, and active citizenship.
Our education plan is the first to recognize that we all must do a better job of educating our children. It lays out a plan to do just that in a challenging
environment of rapidly declining student enrollment.
Steele on skilled trades courses:
This $6.7 million multi-year plan will introduce a manufacturing
trades course linked to shipbuilding. The plan will expand career
development support, including more career coaching workshops
for parents; the plan will double the number of schools offering
skilled trades courses; and the plan will triple the number of
students taking courses through virtual schools.This $6.7 million multi-year plan will introduce a manufacturing
trades course linked to shipbuilding. The plan will expand career
development support, including more career coaching workshops
for parents; the plan will double the number of schools offering
skilled trades courses; and the plan will triple the number of
students taking courses through virtual schools.
Steele on affordable post-secondary education:
Keeping post-secondary education affordable for Nova Scotians
remains a top priority of this government.
From 2004 to 2010, provincial funding for universities increased
by 64 per cent, which was not sustainable. A new approach to
funding was necessary.
Last year, the province invested $42.5 million to keep tuition
below the national average, increase assistance levels and
the grant-to-loan ratio, and cap student debt for the first time
in Nova Scotia’s history. This was the single largest annual
investment for students made by any Nova Scotia government.
Steel on keeping universities sustainable:
Government has a responsibility to find a balance that provides adequate funding for universities and a fair tuition for students, while continuing programs and services that benefit our communities and our economy.
With that in mind, the new memorandum of understanding between the province and Nova Scotia’s 11 universities aims at keeping tuition at, or below, the national average, increases research and development opportunities, and invests $25 million—$13 million this year—in a new Innovation Fund for universities to help them become more sustainable.
It’s a plan aimed at protecting Nova Scotia students and helping universities remain competitive and sustainable for years to come. I am pleased to announce today that as part of Budget 2012, our government is investing $5.5 million more in student assistance. Details of the investment will be announced in the coming days, but suffice it to say that it will target even further improvements in student assistance, improvements that will
demonstrate this government’s continued commitment to
university and college students.
Steele on income assistance, employment support services:
For the second year in a row, the Income Assistance Personal
Allowance is going up. This July, it will increase by $9 per month.
This comes on top of last year’s $15 increase, the largest boost
people on Income Assistance had seen in a decade.
Effective July 1st, families will see an increase of 5 per cent in
the Nova Scotia Child Benefit, helping 24,000 families and
almost twice as many children.
At the same time, both the Affordable Living Tax Credit and
the Poverty Reduction Tax Credit—each of them an initiative
of this government—will be increased to help reduce the impact
of rising prices on everyday needs.
Steele on keeping tax off home heat:
And while I’m talking about affordability, I want to make it
clear that this government will not tax home heating or home
electricity. The previous government said they wouldn’t tax
home heat, and then they did. We took the tax off home heat,
and we will keep it off.
Making life more affordable means a lot to this government
because it means a lot to Nova Scotians. Our plan will help.
It already has. Today we can see the brighter future. We are
getting there. And when we get there we will have choices.
That means ensuring Nova Scotians pay no more in tax than
they absolutely have to for the services they receive.
Steele on HST reductions:
Next year, this province will have a real, sustainable surplus
based on reliable revenues and reasonable expenditures.
After that, our balance sheet will improve to the point where we
can reduce the Harmonized Sales Tax by one per cent in 2014,
and by another one per cent in 2015.
Those reductions are now built into our four-year financial plan.
We are sticking with our plan because it is working. Now Nova
Scotians know our plan means HST reductions, when they are
affordable.
Steele on immigration strategy:
Immigration will be a necessary component in addressing the
impending labour shortages here in the province.
Our immigration strategy is a comprehensive and focused plan to
attract and keep innovative, skilled, and professional immigrants.
It’s based on a solid business case that complements our workforce
strategy and jobsHere to meet labour market and skills shortages.
This year, we will invest $1.5 million in our strategy, to help
immigrants settle and stay in Nova Scotia.
Steele on income taxes:
This budget increases the dependent amount to $8,481 to match
the basic personal amount. This non-refundable credit is claimed
by filers with no spouse or common-law partner and who have
children under the age of 18, providing total savings of $1.4
million, or an average benefit of about $100 for about 14,000
tax filers in Nova Scotia.
We will also increase the spouse amount to $8,481 to match the
basic personal amount. This non-refundable credit is claimed by
filers with a spouse or common-law partner. This increase will
provide total savings of $4.6 million, or an average benefit of
over $100 to more than 44,000 tax filers in Nova Scotia.
Steele on income taxes cont'd:
And this year’s budget will increase the disability amount to
$7,341. This non-refundable credit is claimed by filers who are
disabled or who have a dependent with a disability. It will provide
an average benefit of over $250 to about 6,000 Nova Scotians.
The province remains committed to ensuring that any senior
whose income is low enough to receive the Guaranteed Income
Supplement will get a refund of their provincial income tax.
This initiative—a personal initiative of the Premier’s—is putting
$7.7 million, or an average of about $450, into the hands of
17,000 seniors.
Steele concludes:
The finances of the province are in steady hands with this Premier
and this government, and that means important public services
like health, education, and support for the poor and disabled are
more secure than they have been for a very long time.
And now we can look forward to next year, when we will bring
forward, as promised, a balanced budget for Nova Scotia.
Liberal Finance Critic Diana Whalen: "What is in this budget for the average Nova Scotian?"
Whalen: Every single school board is feeling the pressure... Every single school board is having to squeeze more out of each school, each teacher. The most vulnerable are the ones suffering.
Whalen: It's true our Finance Minister is very boastful today.
Whalen: It's very easy to come in under budget if you overestimate your spending and underestimate your revenue.
Whalen says there are some positives in the budget, including home care increases and closing of provincial office in Ottawa.
Whalen: In my address today, I think it's important we look at all the costs and capital projects and how they are impacting our debt.
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