The Nova Scotia government tabled its third consecutive balanced budget Tuesday, with a $29.4-million surplus.
The 2018-19 budget is focused on health care and education, and includes the capital budget for the upcoming year, promising $605 million for highways, schools and health-care facilities.
Despite the surplus, the net debt is forecasted to grow over the next year, to $15.2 billion. That’s approximately $15,851 per Nova Scotian, which is down slightly over the last fiscal year because the population has risen to 957,600.
There are no tax increases in this budget.
Health care spending increases
Nearly half of the province’s total expenditures go toward health care, with that department’s budget totalling $4.37 billion this year.
There’s $52 million in new spending for various health-care projects, including $19.6 million to recruit, retain and train more doctors, and $8.8 million to hire more surgeons and 350 more hip and knee surgeries. Much of this new spending has been announced in recent weeks.
The province is spending an additional $2.9 million on mental health supports. That funding will go toward improvement and expansion of crisis services, and to hire an additional 18 clinicians, including eight that will work in First Nation communities. This brings the annual mental health spending to $287 million.
An extra $5 million is being spent on ground ambulance services due to an increase in call volume for Emergency Health Services.
About $8.8 million has been set aside to do 350 more hip and knee surgeries and hire more surgeons over the upcoming year.
For the QEII redevelopment project, $35.3 million has been set aside this year for work at three different sites.
Education focus on pre-primary classes, council recommendations
The province is setting aside $25 million to fund changes in classrooms in the coming year.
A $15-million fund has been created to begin implementation of the report by the Commission on Inclusive Education. As promised at the end of the protracted dispute with the Nova Scotia Teachers Union last year, the government is allocating another $10 million to be spent by the Council to Improve Classroom Conditions. Recommendations from both groups are expected in the coming weeks.
About 130 new pre-primary classes will cost $17.6 million, bringing the total pre-primary budget to $24 million. Another $15.5 million has been set aside to add 1,000 more child-care spaces - an amount that will be reimbursed by the federal government.
There are no announcements of new school construction in this capital budget, because the province is working on a long-term school capital construction plan that is expected to be completed by June 1. The school capital repair budget will increase to $11 million.
Legalization of marijuana
The budget does outline the province’s projected revenue for cannabis, anticipating a July 1 legalization date. The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation plans to purchase 12 million grams of recreational marijuana in 2018-19. Duties have been set by the federal government at $1 per gram, with the province collecting 75 cents. That’s expected to generate $10.4 million in new revenue.
The province is also estimating an additional $10.4 million in HST will be collected from the sale of marijuana.
Overall, the NSLC is anticipating that it will break even on the first year of legal marijuana sales, due to the added cost of purchasing product and renovating infrastructure. It’s also predicting a slightly lower revenue from alcohol sales.
The Department of Justice is adding full-time equivalent jobs, some in anticipation of marijuana legalization, including “drug recognition enforcement.”
