N.S. Premier Says $30-Billion Daycare Plan ‘Highlight’ Of The Federal Budget
HALIFAX – Premier Iain Rankin is hopeful that the new federal budget announced Monday will pave the way for Nova Scotians to have $10 per day daycare within the next few years. The Trudeau Liberals have committed $30-billion over the next five years for universal daycare and $8.3-billion for each following year. That will only cover half the expense, however, as the provinces must fund the rest.
At a news conference Monday evening, Rankin estimated that Nova Scotia would have to pay $100-million per year to make the program work but feels the “lofty goal” of having a $10 per day childcare program should be achieved.
“The highlight is the childcare investment that I think is very substantial and I’ve asked the department of education to see how we can leverage that opportunity for us to build on our pre-primary program… and we can look at what the opportunities are to ensure that more women, especially, can enter the workplace.”
“We have to figure out how we become eligible and how we can provide $10-a-day childcare in the province.”
Rankin mentioned that Nova Scotia already spends $50-million per year on the province’s pre-primary program for four-year-olds.
Although Rankin said he was pleased with many facets of the federal budget, he joined other Premiers in criticizing the amount of funding for healthcare. In the weeks leading up to the last election, the 10 premiers made a public push for the federal government to fund 35 percent of healthcare costs, rather than the current rate of 22 percent. But the feds chose to simply give a one-time $4-billion top-up to health transfers instead.
“It would have been nice to see more of an increase,” said Rankin. “We all want to see the federal government step up more to provide funding for healthcare. So that will be a continued ask from all premiers, which I support. But overall, it’s a positive budget that hits on my priorities which I’ve mentioned.”
“They fund 20-something percent of healthcare now. In the 70’s it was 35 percent; so, the request is to bring it closer to those levels.”
There was a lot of talk throughout Canada on Monday about other expensive items that were excluded from the budget. The pandemic has highlighted the economic inequalities that exist in Canada and many were hoping for progressive measures to help balance things out. Many felt, with the income gap widening, it was time for Canada to implement a wealth tax on the country’s wealthiest earners. This was absent from the budget.
When asked if the chatter around this topic would inspire the provincial Liberals into implementing wealth tax, Rankin said Nova Scotia already has high taxes compared to other provinces. He warned that top earners could easily move away if they feel over-taxed.
“On the tax side, we have one of the highest tax rates for the top earners,” said the Premier. “I believe it’s in the magnitude of 50 percent of your income when you’re over $150,000 of income in Nova Scotia. So, you have to be mindful of the mobility of people being able to move away once they hit certain income levels. So, we thought it was appropriate to keep taxes at the same level that they were in our budget.”
Rankin was also asked during the news conference if he felt the budget would help the struggling tourism and airport industries, which have been decimated financially because of the pandemic. Rankin noted that the budget includes $1-billion over the next three years to help the tourism industry. He said agencies like ACOA are expected to help the regional airports survive.
“I see $1-billion over three years for tourism and supporting groups like ACOA. They’re going to need to support their airports. That’s under their jurisdiction… and we will work with our airports to make sure they’re able to survive through the pandemic.”