Premier Tim Houston was back in Nova Scotia facing tough questions from the opposition parties and protesters over budget cuts.
Houston, who is also the energy minister, returned Wednesday to the legislature after spending time at a mining conference in Toronto.
As loud protests carried on outside, Houston told the legislature he remains firm on the fiscal plan and he doesn’t expect any changes to the budget.
“This is a tough time for our province. This is a tough time for our country,” he said.
Houston later told reporters that the province’s $1.2-billion deficit is simply part of a “sad reality.”
“We’ll listen carefully. We’ll understand. If we can support, we’ll support,” he said.
“In many of these cases, the sad reality is that our financial situation is driving the decisions that we’re having to make, and they’re hard decisions.”
The 2026-27 budget, which was tabled last week, came with warnings of “difficult decisions” ahead.
In an effort to cut costs, the province said it will be eliminating or reducing more than 280 grants across multiple government departments to save $130.4 million.
The reductions affect a range of programs, including scholarships, arts funding and initiatives supporting Mi’kmaw and Black and African Nova Scotian communities.
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As well, parents of people with disabilities spoke out Wednesday at the legislature, telling reporters they’re worried about the government’s 20 per cent cut to the provincial caregiver benefit.
Caregivers Nova Scotia says it still doesn’t have clarity from the government about whether the monthly benefit will be reduced or if the program will serve fewer people overall.
Houston’s continued defence of the budget falls flat with the Opposition.
“This government remains confused and tone deaf about what they’re doing and who it’s helping, and who it’s hurting,” said NDP Leader Claudia Chender.
“We have everyone from caregivers to disability advocates to museums to artists telling them that it’s going to decimate their sector, it’s going to hurt the industry, it’s going to put people at risk. And yet, they stand by their talking points that this is going to do something about the financial mismanagement of the province over the last five years, and it won’t.”
As the premier faced criticism inside the legislature, hundreds of protesters were making their voices heard outside Province House for the second day in a row.
Loud chants and colourful signs were on display, as police shut down the streets in downtown Halifax around the legislature to accommodate the rally.
Artists, musicians, and heritage group members were calling on the government to rollback budget cuts to art and community grants.
Jacob Sampson, associate artistic director the 2b Theatre Company in Halifax, said the cuts will have a big impact on organizations that don’t have much financial room to spare.
“The reality is that the vast majority of these organizations are not-for-profit,” he said. “So every dime that we bring in, both from government funding … and fundraising, gets spent on workers, on goods and services and it’s spent here in Nova Scotia.”
The Liberals say Nova Scotians protesting shouldn’t give up hope yet.
“They need to keep the pressure up on him,” said interim Liberal Leader Iain Rankin.
“The premier has been known to walk back policies. I think there’s still an opportunity if we can see some pressure on all the MLAs.”
— With files from The Canadian Press
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