Rankin Defends Budget Priorities In Speech To Business Community

HALIFAX — Premier Iain Rankin faced pointed questions from Halifax’s business community on Wednesday, at his first-ever State of the Province address.

The event, hosted each year by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, is an opportunity for the premier to address the business community, and the wider public, about his government’s priorities for the coming year.

This year, the newly elected Rankin was asked to respond to a more-pointed-than-usual set of questions from business leaders who have already expressed some concerns with the government’s newly released provincial budget.

Gavin MacDonald, the chair of the Chamber’s board of directors, kicked off the event by outlining a litany of concerns from the Chamber.

He said the chamber hopes to see the government “optimize spending” and asked for a “concrete set of actions for the economic recovery that includes support for businesses, re-imagining policy, community-based support, and a plan for economic growth.”

MacDonald asked why the government hasn’t prioritized testing at the province’s airports and argued for more direct support for the tourism and hospitality industries.

“As just about the safest place to live and work in the world today, we certainly hoped we would see a provincial budget that incentivized quick recovery for all businesses, but particularly helped those hardest hit,” he said.

While he applauded the government’s choice not to raise taxes, and reduce the regulatory burden for businesses, he said he was disappointed by the government’s overall spending choices.

“In a budget with $1-billion in new infrastructure and innovation spending, and $859-million in increased departmental expenses… the budget provided virtually no new money or supports for businesses most impacted by the pandemic,” MacDonald said.

“While the finance minister and his senior staff use phrases like ‘invest in recovery’ and ‘economy where business can grow’, and the premier has stated ‘small business is the backbone of the economy’, the chamber simply did not see that evident in the budget.”

MacDonald said the money the province allocated to healthcare and capital spending was “not putting the focus on economic recovery that is needed or was promised.”

Rankin Lays Out Inclusive, Long-Term Vision

In his speech, Rankin contrasted MacDonald’s concerns by laying out his vision for a recovery that supports the province’s most vulnerable populations while taking a longer-term view of the province’s economic health.

“While our economy has begun to move, the pandemic has disproportionately impacted citizens of marginalized communities. That’s why I believed we needed to make significant investments, mainly the largest increase by far to income assistance,” Rankin said, referring to a $100 monthly increase in social assistance payments.

“This budget [has] overall the largest investment in our most vulnerable citizens, and that is government’s role: to look out for those most vulnerable in our society,” Rankin added.

The premier also said he wants Nova Scotia to take the lead in developing a green economy, something he argued will help build long-term strength in the province’s economy.

“This economic recovery will be different from past recovery efforts and I believe we need to seize it. While climate change is an existential threat, we need to see this challenge as an opportunity and the business community especially needs to see how environmental responsibility is related to fiscal responsibility,” he said.

Rankin argued the $80-million his government promised in the budget for green economy initiatives will help create jobs in the trades — things like building wind turbines and installing solar panels.

Province Must Be Careful Where It Spends

Answering questions after his speech, Rankin responded to criticisms that his government hadn’t promised enough support for tourism and hospitality businesses. He pointed to programs like the property tax rebates his
government put in place shortly before the budget.

He said he saw how much restrictions were impacting businesses and “wanted to find an immediate benefit,” so he announced support ahead of the budget.

“We didn’t want to wait,” he said.

However, he pointed out that the province has “half a billion dollars” of deficit and that he wants to make sure the government spends every dollar wisely.

“We need to look at how we look at the economy holistically — and support how we grow that economy. We don’t have endless amounts of money,” he said. “I just think we really need to be prudent and effective with any money we’re providing.”

With that in mind, he said the province still needs to be nimble and jump in with support for businesses if more restrictions are imposed.

“When there is an immediate need to support our businesses, we’ll be there,” Rankin said.

He also said he’s not ready yet to provide extra money to Tourism Nova Scotia for marketing and programming as the Chamber has asked for.
Things are still too uncertain with the pandemic, especially with new strains of Covid-19 spreading through the country, Rankin said.

He said he’s “not thinking outside the [Atlantic] Bubble right now,” but that the government will start spending on marketing again once it makes more sense.

New Economic Growth Council

Rankin also used his address to announce a new, provincial Economic Growth Council.

The council will be headed up by former Liberal MP, and current chancellor of Dalhousie University, Scott Brison. It will act as an advisory board with a mandate to “position the province for economic success and grow the economy as Nova Scotia emerges from the pandemic.”

Rankin said the council will “serve as a resource to me and the government” and provide advice on how to “ensure we maximize our ability to help our companies expand and how to ensure that we’re ready for the most investment.”

The council is made up of volunteers and will act as an independent advisory group to the provincial government.

HuddleToday
Trevor Nichols
https://huddle.today/rankin-defends-budget-priorities-in-speech-to-business-community/