Statement from Melissa Marsman, President of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour, on the Federal Budget

The federal budget brings some good news, but also serious concerns for working people in Nova Scotia. While we welcome long-overdue investments in national defence, this budget does not address the reality workers are facing: rising costs, low wages, and growing inequality.

Nova Scotians are paying more for groceries, housing, power, transportation, and yet this budget offers no real help with the cost-of-living crisis. There is nothing here for workers who are choosing between heating their homes and feeding their families, nor is there anything to address poverty and the surge in food bank use across our province.

We are pleased to see Canada finally moving toward meeting its NATO spending target. Nova Scotia has a strong military footprint — from CFB Halifax to shipbuilding and marine support industries, and defence spending can support good union jobs in our region. But that will only happen if the government ensures this work is done here in Canada, with Canadian workers and apprentices not shipped offshore.

But the announcement of federal public sector job cuts over the next three years is unacceptable. These are the workers who deliver EI, immigration services, food safety inspections, veterans’ services, and more. Cutting workers means cutting services that we all rely on.

The budget also talks about lowering bank fees, and while that is a small step in the right direction, it doesn’t get to the real issue: runaway corporate profits. Grocery chains, banks, oil companies, telecom giants, and big developers continue to pay less tax than most workers. The federal government must tackle corporate greed and implement fair taxation so that big corporations pay the same tax on every dollar they make as working people do. Workers shouldn’t be the only ones carrying the load.

We needed a budget that tackled inflation, strengthened public services, protected good jobs, and helped people stay housed, fed, and healthy. Instead, we got a budget that spends big in some areas, but still leaves working families to fend for themselves.

The Nova Scotia Federation of Labour will continue to push for a federal plan that puts workers first—not corporate balance sheets. Read the CLC statement on the Budget.