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Nova Scotia’s finance minister refuses to say whether an economic impact analysis was conducted specifically about cuts to arts and culture before last month’s budget was released.
John Lohr did not directly answer reporters’ repeated questions Friday about whether the impact of such cuts was studied in advance.
“The budget process is quite a lengthy process for us within the department. And we’re doing analysis of the trajectory of our province for sure,” he said.
Lohr said the government looks at “all of those big number things” — such as the deficit, revenue, the GDP, the debt-to-GDP ratio and borrowing costs — as it develops its budget.
Asked whether it would be fair to say the government did not conduct a particular analysis on the impact of the cuts, Lohr told reporters, “I don’t know if … that would be fair. I think that we are looking at the overall effect of every decision we make on the economy.”
He said the government is very aware of the impacts of cuts, and noted that the province continues to fund arts and culture to the tune of $66 million.
The budget released at the end of February included $130 million in cuts to discretionary grants, affecting many programs and organizations in the arts and culture sector. Funding reductions included the closure of several museums and most of the tourist information centres in Nova Scotia.
The cuts sparked significant protests throughout the province.
The government later walked back $53.6 million in cuts, including funding for some supports for people with disabilities, seniors and African Nova Scotian and Indigenous students. Funding to the arts and culture sector was not reinstated.
The budget confronts a $1.2-billion deficit that the government hopes to improve over time through future cuts and increased economic activity in the defence and natural resources sectors.
Opposition reaction
NDP Leader Claudia Chender questioned whether an economic analysis was conducted by the government.
“The government keeps telling us they’re making hard choices and our question is, on what basis? And the government cannot tell us even the simple math behind their decisions,” she said.
“I think what this all shows is what we have been concerned about since the day this budget came in. This government has not done the work to understand the impact of this budget on Nova Scotians and as such they need to pause and take it back.”
Interim Liberal Leader Iain Rankin said he has not been able to get clear answers from any minister on whether an impact analysis took place before the budget was tabled.
“If there was, that’s shameful because the analysis would show the value of arts and culture and especially the other programs that were reversed,” he said.
“I mean, they had to have known that there was going to be a large impact, but they had months and months and months to do that work. They didn’t come prepared.”
The budget is still being debated in the provincial legislature, but since the government has a majority in the House, it will pass — likely by the end of the month.
The legislature will be on spring break next week.
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