Maritimers wonder if financial relief is on the way after P.E.I. makes announcement

A day after the Prince Edward Island government announced financial relief for residents as the cost of living continues to rise, some in other Maritime provinces wonder if they'll be receiving the same.

Nova Scotians hoping for inflation relief similar to the one-time $500 cheques being sent to some residents on P.E.I. are getting some bad news.

“I’m not really interested in one-offs. I don’t think they help in the grand scheme of things,” Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston told CTV News Atlantic Tuesday.

Islanders making less than $100,000 a year are eligible for the full amount. Those making between $100,000 to $125,000 will receive a pro-rated amount.

Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender pushed for similar assistance back in June when she tabled a bill asking the province to send out a payment to households with an income below $70,000 a year.

“A cheque like P.E.I. is sending will help people make it one more month and there’s a lot more we can do, but we should do that at the minimum,” says Chender.

Houston maintains these types of measures actually add to inflation and he’d rather focus on sustainable, long-term supports.

“If you look through the initiatives through community services, also from housing, rent supplements, supporting part of the social safety nets that exist in our community, those are all things that we're conscious of,” Houston says.

Nova Scotia Liberal Leader Zach Churchill says the government can do more on those fronts to help people cope with skyrocketing inflation.

“I think this government needs to take a hard look at government services and taxation and figure out what they can do to help right now and for the long-term to strengthen peoples' buying power and our economy,” says Churchill.

A report released in September by the Nova Scotia branch of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives shows that between June of 2020 and June of 2021, consumer prices rose by 9.3 per cent -- the largest one year hike since 1982.

The one-time payment to residents of P.E.I. will be distributed in January through the Canada Revenue Agency.