Nova Scotia Provincial Budget Statement, 2022-23
While the current Nova Scotia government has promised practical solutions and has set some strong goals, its major policy document of the year – yesterday’s 2022-23 provincial budget - does not take the necessary steps to move ideas to action.
We are all experiencing the crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. This government has promised practical solutions, and yet, based on this budget it appears it is not taking this promise seriously.
In the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act (EGCCRA), the PC government set some ambitious goals, and it is imperative that they are properly resourced. The government lists 28 goals in EGCCRA, yet in this budget we see investments in only a handful, notably EV charging stations and provincial building energy audits. EAC articulated many of these necessary investments in our pre-budget recommendations.
A key milestone in the successful implementation of EGCCRA is the climate plan, due to be released later this spring, yet no funding appears to have been earmarked for its implementation.
If COVID has taught us anything, it’s that we have to spend what it takes in an emergency. And this emergency has been going on for decades.
At the same time, we must stop investing in things that set us back. This means ending subsidies for outdated industries that lock us into an unsustainable future and adding “green strings” to big investments and industries seeking government funding.
As Mi’kma’ki/Nova Scotia continues to recover from COVID-19 and faces down the intersecting crises of climate change, rising inequity and biodiversity loss, we need to ask ourselves “is this level of budget spending going to support the level of action needed to respond to the climate emergency, build resilient communities and support the wellbeing of all residents?”
Sadly, this budget falls short.
Read the provincial budget here.
Read EAC’s pre budget submission letter here.