(Truro) – CUPE Nova Scotia President Danny Cavanagh says, “Finance Minister Steele’s musings this week about tax cuts come at a particularly bad time, given recent funding cuts to health care, education and other vitally important public services.
“Parents with children in the P-12 school system are no doubt wondering how tax cuts make any sense after being told their schools will face a second year in a row of budget cuts,” says Cavanagh.
Cavanagh says, “CUPE is quite concerned that in its obsession to balance the budget by 2013, our province is losing sight of the need for services like health and education in order to maintain prosperous communities – particularly in rural Nova Scotia.
“The recent census data from Statistics Canada should be a wakeup call to the provincial government. We are witnessing the slow death of rural Nova Scotia. Tax cuts are not the answer right now,” he says.
CUPE Atlantic Regional Director Jacquie Bramwell says, “How can the minister be talking about tax cuts, frankly, at a time when we are trying to deal with 3% budget cuts in acute care, and a shared services exercise that is going to reduce frontline services?
“Our school boards are being directed to cut up to 2.1% of their budgets, plus absorb inflation and any wage increases out of their budgets. Inflation alone is another 3%. This is not the time for tax cuts,” says Bramwell.