QP: This government's budget is punching down

CLAUDIA CHENDER : Speaker, this minister wants to answer questions but won't answer for the cuts in her department. This is a budget that punches down. Those aren't my words. Those are the words of the organizations being impacted. Parents and students are concerned, for example, about cuts to Club Inclusion. Day programs like this provide vital support for young adults with disabilities, autism, and many other things that keep them out of regular programming. There is a 10 percent cut to day programs and a complete cut to the Club Inclusion program funding, as well as reductions to their wage base.

Families say they feel betrayed. They want to understand how the decisions were made. Why were the supports these families rely on considered expendable?

THE SPEAKER  : Order.

The honourable Minister of Opportunities and Social Development.

HON. BARBARA ADAMS  : Everyone in this House has the same priorities. We want to feed the hungry, house the homeless, educate our children, provide supports for those with intellectual, physical, and mental health disabilities, and provide a permanent home for seniors in this province when they can no longer live at home.

The combined budget of my two departments is approximately $3.5 billion. There is a lot of investment happening in this province. For those of us who've been in government, we know that those decisions were not made lightly. We value all our providers and partners. There are difficult challenges, but we're going to work with all of them to support them through this difficult time.

THE SPEAKER  : Order.

The honourable Leader of the Official Opposition.

CLAUDIA CHENDER : Speaker, we still don't have answers. These cuts are hitting organizations that provide frontline accessible care and recreation for people across our province, and we have no explanation of why these choices were made. Many of these groups also support people with disabilities with job training and employment opportunities, saving the government money but, more importantly, letting them live full, fulfilling lives.

These organizations are in every corner of our province, from Yarmouth to Sydney to Amherst to Oxford. On top of service cuts, which we still don't have an explanation for, why is the Premier putting rural employment opportunities at risk?

BARBARA ADAMS : One of the things that we've talked about a lot in the last few years is homelessness. I remember, a couple years ago - because I live in Metro - there were hundreds of people living in tents on the streets of Metro, and the public screamed, "House the homeless."

We invested 1,300 percent the year before I got there; now it's going to be up to 1,600 percent. In this budget alone, when we talk about core priorities, I don't know who's more of a priority than the homeless; $17 million more than what we've already invested will go to 378 supportive housing units. That's a core priority.