QP - Cuts to Women's Programs

CLAUDIA CHENDER : Speaker, in order to pay for their financial mismanagement, this government is making cuts that will have a direct impact on women's safety, health care, and access to education.

Cuts to the Domestic Violence Court Program in Halifax and Sydney, which we heard about; trauma-informed care at the IWK; programs that came out of recommendations that came out of the Mass Casualty Commission - this government has acknowledged that intimate partner violence is an epidemic. It is irresponsible and harmful to cut programs and services that help vulnerable women and gender-diverse people.

I want to ask the minister responsible for the Advisory Council on the Status of Women: Why should women experiencing violence and trauma have to pay for this government's financial mismanagement?

HON. LEAH MARTIN  : Survivors and victims of intimate partner violence or gender-based violence need to be met with integrity, with strength, and with confidence. I'm very confident that, through difficult decisions that we've made, we are still servicing survivors and victims of gender-based violence at the highest level.

In our across-government approach, we still have $115 million to implement and act on recommendations from the Mass Casualty Commission. We are being efficient and making sure that those dollars go as far as possible.

CLAUDIA CHENDER : I hope at some point we will get an answer. This is perplexing. We are cutting from the most vulnerable Nova Scotians and the money government is saving is a drop in the deficit bucket. Why choose these programs?

These aren't the only cuts that are harmful to women in the province. The government is cutting the Caregiver Benefit by 20 percent - a benefit that goes primarily to women taking care of family members who need support. It's a difficult and important task. Nova Scotians who are taking care of aging or ill loved ones need more help, not less. How can this government claim they're defending Nova Scotia while they're stripping away supports for women?

THE SPEAKER : The Deputy Premier.

BARBARA ADAMS : Speaker, what is important for Nova Scotians to understand is that the Department of Opportunities and Social Development, which includes a $26-million investment for gender-based violence alone just for my department and my Department of Seniors and Long-term Care, both of those budgets are going up by $110 million each. There are some strategic decisions that had to be made, but there is still the Caregiver Benefit; there is still the Seniors Care Grant; there are seven brand new nursing homes that are going to be opened this year alone. That is care that Nova Scotians have asked for and that is care that our province is delivering.