Budget Makes Life Better for Valley Families

NOTE: A social media version of this release with a video clip is available at http://gov.ns.ca/news/smr/2011-04-05-Budget-2011/ . Photos and audio clips will be added soon.

Helping patients recover faster from hip and knee surgeries, making Acadia University more affordable for Valley families, helping local farmers and important improvements to Highway 101 are some of the highlights for Valley families in the provincial budget today, April 5th.

"This budget invests in health care, growing the economy, helping people make ends meet, all while ensuring government lives within its means," said Graham Steele, Minister of Finance. "We still have a difficult financial situation to address, but this budget shows that we are on target to balance in 2013, as promised."

Highlights for the Valley in today's budget include:

• an orthopedic surgery program that will cut consultation wait times for patients, support a successful surgery and help ensure a quicker recovery
• changes to student assistance that will make attending Acadia University, or any Nova Scotia university, more affordable for Valley families
• helping Valley entrepreneurs by reducing the small business tax to four per cent from 4.5 per cent, the second consecutive year it has declined
• an enhanced soil amendment program for local farmers
• funds to implement the Homegrown Success agricultural plan
• funding for important improvements to Highway 101, such as the Mary Jane Riley interchange in Annapolis County and adding passing lanes in Kings County, replacing the Bushy McMahon bridge in Kings County and other road upgrade and paving projects
• continued and stable funding support for Annapolis Valley Regional Library
• funding for new Clark Rutherford Memorial School in Cornwallis and improvements to local schools, including Evangeline Middle School in New Minas
• continued and stable funding support for local museums, such as Haliburton House

Total revenues for 2011-12, including net income from government business enterprises, are estimated at $8.5 billion, a decrease of $133 million over the 2010-11 estimates.

The 2011 budget projects a deficit of $389.6 million. This is in line with the $370-million deficit anticipated in the province's four-year fiscal plan.

Total expenses for fiscal 2011-12 are budgeted at $9.3 billion, up $323.0 million from 2010-11, entirely because of reinstating university funding.

Today's budget also includes:

• investing $42.5 million to help make post-secondary education more affordable
• opening at least four new Collaborative Emergency Centres this year
• providing tax breaks, such as an increase in the basic personal amount by $250
• reducing departmental spending by $170 million
• investing $28 million to improve business productivity
• providing $7.9 million to low-income families to help make ends meet.

For more information on the 2011-12 provincial budget, visit www.gov.ns.ca