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Maintaining Investment in Nova Scotians: Alternative Provincial Budget 2006-2007

Research Report by N/A

According to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Nova Scotian provincial government underestimates its surpluses. This propensity for underestimation stifles debate on how public funds should be distributed, and thereby diminishes the opportunities available to improve services and infrastructure.

Instead of the tax cut philosophy that is endorsed by the government, the authors argue that the province’s revenue capacity should be focused more on investing in social programs and services. This is especially important for Nova Scotia, since it was the second lowest investor in programs and services of all provinces in 2004-05. Further, the authors calculate that the province needs to invest an additional $800 million annually just to meet the national average. This paper stresses the need to address the social debt through the budgetary process.

The authors suggest that making post-secondary education more affordable, decreasing the levels of poverty, greater attention to environmental policy and a revitalization of the health care system are ways to achieve this aim. While the authors recognize that the province possesses a large debt and increasing the debt load is unfeasible, they posit that investments can be made without a debt increase.

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Policy Publication Details

Author(s):	N/A;
Publisher:	Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives [ Visit Website ]
Year Published:	2006;	Publisher Type:	Research Institute
Publicly Available:	Yes	Research Focus:	Provincial;
Registration Required:	No	Language:	English
Payment Required:	No	Publication Format:	Adobe PDF

Subjects / Categories:

Keywords / Tags:

economic growth; budget; social debt; education; culture; environment; pharmacare; public infrastructure; debt; low-income households; federal transfers; university;