The Nova Scotia Loyal Program was a promise made during the election campaign. The pitch was to create a first of its kind rewards program to incentive more people to buy local.
But a year and a half into the government’s mandate, the program has yet to roll out.
“The NS Loyal Program was one of their key platform points when it came to the economy, that and the better paycheque guarantee,” said Derek Mombourquette, the Liberal economic development critic.
“We’re seeing now that both have not gotten off the ground, and a substantial amount of money has been spent on the Nova Scotia Loyal Program.”
According to documents provided to the Liberal party by the Department of Economic Development, the province has so far spent $684,000 on the program:
- Brand Development: $95,000
- Social media July to November: $32,000
- Truck expenses – 24 month lease (x2) and related expenses: $120,000
- In-person brand development: $36,000
- Paid advertising booked through CNS: $80,000
- Prototyping and project management: $250,000
- Promotional materials: $71,000
Economic Development Minister Susan Corkum-Greek says she stands by the spending, saying that it’s important to be out in the community talking to Nova Scotians and businesses about the program.
“Nova Scotians have engaged, and a good part of the budget was absolutely to ensure that engagement,” said Corkum-Greek.
“Without engaging Nova Scotians how sure could be be that we were creating a program that would actually be meaningful and truly accessible?”
As part of the engagement process, the department launched a prototyping phase over the summer where they consulted with businesses and Nova Scotians about their shopping habits. Corkum-Greek says they received feedback from about 10,000 Nova Scotians and now they are using that feedback to help create the program.
But Mombourquette questions how widespread the consultation was, saying that he’s heard very little about the program in Cape Breton.
In Halifax, while the prototype program did run in some areas including the Brewery Market in August, most business associations say there has been little or no communication with them aside from being directed to the Nova Scotia website.
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With many questions still surrounding the program, the Liberal party is questioning if the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent so far are worth it for a program still not off the ground and at a time of economic uncertainty.
“I think there are other initiatives we could be doing as a government that would help support local vendors” said Mombourquette.
“I’ve been advocating for a universal lunch program for our students, we could have used local farmers and local vendors to provide that support to our kids and to our families. That’s a tangible cost we could take away for families.”
Minister Corkum-Greek says there is value in the Nova Scotia Loyal Program and she’s excited for when it’s up and running. She says it takes time to get it right but addds the program will be launching this year, likely in the next several months.
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