Houston Cuts Good Paying Jobs On Top of Deficit Budget

This article appears in the Winter/Spring edition of the Union Stand.

Nova Scotia will be less welcoming to tourists, have fewer good paying rural jobs, and less culture and heritage museums as part of a series of layoffs Premier Tim Houston made leading into his historical $1.2 billion budget deficit.

“This has become an all too familiar situation in Nova Scotia. Governments make big spending commitments favoured by corporations, they reduce revenue through tax cuts, and then when it comes time to be held accountable, it’s the workers who are left to pay the price,” said Sandra Mullen, President of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU). “These layoffs come after the Finance Minister reassured workers that frontline jobs would not be cut.”

The layoffs include the closure of visitor information centres and museums around the province at a time when tourism is an important source of revenue.

“This is not just about hotel bookings, this is about people on the front line welcoming visitors to our province and providing them with information on restaurants, local businesses, community events, all of which promote our overall economy,” said Mullen. “Telling people to ‘Google it’ ignores our greatest tourism advantage: our people and their hospitality.”

Other layoffs will impact food inspectors, agricultural labs, and highway construction services.

“Because of the financial choices made by Tim Houston and his government, Nova Scotia is facing its largest deficit in the province’s history,” said Mullen. “Taking good paying jobs out of our rural communities is not the solution. I wonder how many rural MLAs support the cutting of these jobs? And is this the end of job losses or just the beginning?”

The government tabled their budget on February 23.

“The Premier now has a track record of attacking hard-working and dedicated civil servants and we will be looking at his budget and any new legislation for further attacks on them.”