Change is never easy

Recently our NDP government's first true budget was passed on the floor of the NS Legislature. The budget marks the beginning of a more positive path for Nova Scotia. That being said, change is never easy.

The previous government left us with a serious financial challenge. Tough choices were needed to maintain the quality of services for every Nova Scotian while getting the province's finances back to balance.

After consulting with Nova Scotians, we developed a strategic four-year plan to cut government spending and increase revenues while growing the province's economy and making life better for Nova Scotia's families.

In recent weeks my office has received several calls from constituents looking for additional information about the budget. As I said before, change is never easy and I appreciate that residents of Dartmouth South - Portland Valley take an active interest in our government and the decisions being made.

I find seniors in our community have a particularly keen interest in the political process and I want to assure you that our commitment to seniors is front-and-centre in this budget.

In February, we removed a major financial burden from seniors and their families when we eliminated security deposits from nursing homes. In this budget we continue to make life more affordable for seniors by ensuring that any senior who receives the Guaranteed Income Supplement will no longer have to pay any provincial income tax.

Seniors benefit in other ways from our commitment to making the right decisions for Nova Scotia families. By restoring the HST to 15%--and increasing the tax rate for the wealthiest Nova Scotians--our government is taking the kind of decisive steps needed to better match our expenditures to our revenues. It wasn't an easy choice to make but it was required to maintain the valuable services like health care Nova Scotians need.

Trying to balance the budget this year would have inflicted too much immediate pain on too many people. Instead, our careful, moderate approach will get Nova Scotia back to balance by 2013-2014. In the meantime, our budget includes measures that will help make life better today for all Nova Scotians as we forge a new fiscal course.

It's the right thing to do. For all Nova Scotians.