Synopsis of Finance Minister's Visit to Digby

Synopsis of the Digby Dialogue with the Minister of Finance, held February 24, 2010 from
6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Royal Canadian Legion, 92 Mount Street
Finance Minister Graham Steele began the Digby dialogue with a review of the current and
forecasted fiscal situation in Nova Scotia, and asked the 36 people that attended this meeting for
advice on “how do we get back to balance?”
The Minister stated that we have to look at increasing revenues, reducing spending, and growing
the economy over the long term to eliminate the deficit and get back to balance. Each choice will
affect the others, so all three types of measures must be considered together. Seven small groups
considered these types of measures and answered Minister Steele’s four questions:
1. What should the government do to increase revenues and reduce spending?
2. What changes should be made to programs and services to close the gap – are there
things government should do better, stop doing, or do more of?
3. What investments should be made today that will help to grow the economy in the long
term?
4. How soon should government bring Nova Scotia’s finances back to balance?
The following pages provide the results of these group discussions, compiled from each group’s
flipcharts and their reporter’s final presentation. This information will be compiled with the
results of all the other public dialogue sessions as input to a summary report.
Group 1:
1. What should the government do to increase revenues and reduce spending?
Increase Revenue:
• Increase revenue by decreasing the costs of administration and health care services
• Sell off some assets such as buildings, etc.
• More revenue and jobs
• GST is a regressive tax that hurts the poor
Reduce Spending:
• Savings when programs are chopped
• Diminish spending on studies (such as tourism) – use local knowledge
• Get rid of duplicate levels – i.e. Department of Health and 8 district health authorities
(artificial boundaries in Health Authorities – one not working with another even though
they are only 20 minutes apart)
• Amalgamate Digby/Annapolis Health Care service
• Less money to big businesses – more to small businesses – generate more jobs
• Go through departments and define what’s working and what’s not and if it’s not working
efficiently, get rid of it! Carry out a stringent independent audit
2. What changes should be made to programs and services to close the gap?
• Get value for money spent – make sure it’s done right
• Follow through on projects that are in the works, “just do it”

G e t t i n g B a c k t o B a l a n c e P a g e 2
• Do more in health care – keep emergency rooms open – with paramedics
• Make student doctors come to rural communities as part of their training
• Review dialysis set ups in the Digby area
3. What investments should be made today that will help to grow the economy in the long term?
• Act on existing plans
• Government – is it too large?
• Get rid of duplication of services
Group 2:
1. What should the government do to increase revenues and reduce spending? What changes
should be made to programs and services to close the gap?
Increase Revenue:
• Raise taxes – people would pay more if they know they know where it is going – liquor
store, sales tax, income tax, big company corporate tax, tiered tax rate
Reduce Spending:
• Stop corporate gifts
• Services to serve the people not big corporations
• Look at what is not working. Demand better accountability and put the money where it
needs to be
• Increase cooperation amongst departments
• Eliminate bonuses
• Eliminate overlap – i.e. federal and provincial ministers with same portfolios
2. What changes should be made to programs and services to close the gap?
• Education is the foundation
3. What investments should be made today that will help to grow the economy in the long term?
• Develop rural infrastructure and communication
• Maintain our ferries
• Promote our rural communities – support small businesses; they are the backbone of NS
• Social and physical infrastructure plus educated population plus a healthy population =
add these three together and our economy will grow – the revenue comes from us
• Continue to invest in education – essential to grow our economy
• Have a long-range economic plan (current piece-meal plan is no plan!))
• Remember and act on previous election campaign slogans and promises – i.e. invest in
Canadian/Nova Scotian families
• More “doing”
• Put money where it belongs – local economy; infrastructure (social and physical, ferry,
train, public transit, etc)
• Keep money local (NS), every local dollar spent is re-spent locally
• Cheaper does not equal better
4. How soon should government bring Nova Scotia’s finances back to balance?
• Depending on the circumstances (i.e. earthquakes, recessions, etc), use as long as it takes
to make things work

G e t t i n g B a c k t o B a l a n c e P a g e 3
Group 3:
1. What should the government do to increase revenues and reduce spending?
Increase Revenue:
• Increase the number of foreign students
• Increase taxes on liquor, tobacco, gas
• Reduce taxes on “oil industry” processing facilities
• Minimum HST increase
Reduce Spending:
• Cut civil service from the top down
• Give a percentage of civil service programs back to local boards – Health and Education
• Put local medical practice on fee for service – include nurse practitioners
• Cut 10%-20% of each department’s staff/budget
• Reduce civil service expense levels – travel km. rates etc.
• Cut advertising for liquor and lottery
2. What changes should be made to programs and services to close the gap?
• Local medical clinics to charge fee for services and have MDs with nurse practitioners
• Budget – analyze the spending (including staff)
• More accountability
• Layoff bad civil service employees
• Improve fleet/lease management
• Make schools available for recreation programs
• Combine prevention programs – Health, Justice, Addiction
3. What investments should be made today that will help to grow the economy in the long term?
• Ferry (Saint John and Yarmouth). Think of this as a tax gain vs. subsidy. Use the NB
model for Grand Manan, and share the port
• Need vocational programs and a stronger central technology training centre
• Seek out China/Brazil business opportunities
• Government institutions must have “100km” policy
• Grow energy technology
• Offer tax breaks for start ups
• Evaluate government funded programs to see if outcomes are being met
• Do more prevention programs, addiction services, and early intervention; and mental
health and family resource programs
Group 4:
1. What should the government do to increase revenues and reduce spending?
Increase Revenue:
• Change small business HST: when they remit, give them back only 10% rather than 13%
• We have concerns that an increase to the HST will have a negative effect on growth
• Find ways to increase the population
• Support immigration into the province
• Tourism tax
Reduce Spending:
• Reduce the amount of money going to the universities – do we have too many
universities?
• Re-evaluate pensions – beginning with a look at government officials. A smaller
workforce has to support many retired people
• Decentralize the government

G e t t i n g B a c k t o B a l a n c e P a g e 4
• Redefine what provincial residency entails – i.e. people return from out west and get
benefits here
• Clear and achievable targets in the budget
2. What changes should be made to programs and services to close the gap?
• Open an office of entrepreneurial affairs – connect business and government
3. What investments should be made today that will help to grow the economy in the long term?
• Invest in trade programs at community colleges
• Bring in people who want to train for trades
• More money into community college system
• Invest in transportation systems
• Adopt long term planning – at least 10 years (i.e. decision re: Yarmouth and Digby
ferries) and invest in transportation links that strengthen infrastructure
• Invest in public education
• Pay incentives (tuition, isolation pay) for medical professionals to go to rural areas
4. How soon should government bring Nova Scotia’s finances back to balance?
• Our government should bring Nova Scotia’s finances back to balance in 5 to10 years
• Be positive – look outward as a province to the world!
Group 5:
1. What should the government do to increase revenues and reduce spending?
Increase Revenue:
• Encourage small business expansion
• Tax increase
• HST (1-2%)
• Oil and gas royalties increased
• Change tax credit to benefit small business
Reduce Spending:
• Audit cost of over-governance or over-spending (not everyone agreed on this)
• Offer incentives for coming in under-budget (all departments)
• Decrease MLAs salaries and expenses (not everyone agreed on this)
2. What changes should be made to programs and services to close the gap?
• Increase spending on active, healthy living and healthier people means less money will be
needed for health care
• Early childhood education programs
• Evaluate success of government programs – make sure they’re doing what they should be
• Better negotiation of business contracts (i.e. the CAT)
• Encourage people to get back into the workforce
3. What investments should be made today that will help to grow the economy in the long term?
• Encourage high tech businesses/industry by promoting what we have to offer
• Invest in education – rethink education
• Growth in food (fish) and energy (green)
• Focus on small businesses/high tech industries/create opportunities

G e t t i n g B a c k t o B a l a n c e P a g e 5
4. How soon should government bring Nova Scotia’s finances back to balance?
• Start now! Our government should bring Nova Scotia’s finances back to balance as soon
as possible!
• Take care of our province the way we would take care of our families!
Group 6:
1. What should the government do to increase revenues and reduce spending?
Increase Revenue:
• Increase corporate taxes
• Increase high income surtax
• Increase tax on non-essential goods (alcohol, tobacco, junk food, etc)
• Technology = less travelling = fewer expenses. Use skype, teleconferencing, etc.
Reduce Spending:
• Reduce government spending
• Pay debt over a period of years
• Reduce the number of new education programs/initiatives (i.e. accreditation)
• Increase early elementary supports to decrease the need for supports later in their
education career
• Use more proactive health care i.e. early screening, early treatments, early education
2. What changes should be made to programs and services to close the gap?
• More money in early education. Realign spending within Department of Education; less
top heavy, fewer new initiatives – re-evaluate
• Reduce government spending and re-evaluate use of money for government expense
accounts, salaries and pensions
• More money for proactive health care, and realign spending within health care budget
3. What investments should be made today that will help to grow the economy in the long term?
• Increase tourism
• Increase corporate businesses by offering incentive packages
• Invest in our youth, offer early support in education and health
• More business = more jobs = more skilled labor = more taxes
4. How soon should government bring Nova Scotia’s finances back to balance?
• We have accrued this debt over a period of time, so take time to pay it off (minimum of a
5-year plan)
• Spend the money wisely to make educated, healthy, contributing members of our
communities
Group 7:
1. What should the government do to increase revenues and reduce spending?
Increase Revenue:
• Increase tobacco 2%
• Tax on trans-fats 2%
Reduce Spending:
• Eliminate the health boards – DHA’s
• Eliminate the duplication of services
• Investigate pension plans (Province of NS)
• Reviewing and rationalization of agencies, boards, and commissions
2. What changes should be made to programs and services to close the gap?

G e t t i n g B a c k t o B a l a n c e P a g e 6
• Do Better at focusing; establish SMART goals.
• Basic literacy needs to be improved
• Improve primary care for chronic conditions
• Stop trying to be all things to all people
• Take an approach that considers the all the fundamentals; as shown in this illustration, we
need an economic development plan
covering the main structure of education
and health, and firmly established on a
strong foundation of other infrastructure.
3. What investments should be made today that will help to grow the economy in the long term?
• Invest in the capacities to produce value added products
• Look beyond the short term plans – go long term
• Improve the infrastructure, transportation, water, education, health, ferry (to Saint John!)
• Health care must be more proactive. Wellness enhancement, health promotion, injury
prevention
• Develop a real economic plan for this area, with resources. We have to get real.
4. How soon should government bring Nova Scotia’s finances back to balance?
• As long as it takes, but do it right!!!
Note: Flip chart notes have been edited slightly to improve readability.