Government will provide targeted support to help approximately 75,000 Nova Scotia seniors, and others who live with low incomes, make ends meet.

In the past two years, government created the Affordable Living Tax Credit and the Poverty Reduction Tax Credit, removed the provincial portion of the HST from home energy, children’s clothing and footwear, diapers, and feminine hygiene products, and increased the seniors’ property tax credit from $400 to $600.

Last year government committed to refund provincial income tax to 18,000 seniors who received the Guaranteed Income Supplement. This year government will put $9.2 million back into the hands of seniors.

Through investments made, government will do the following:

• The personal allowance for people receiving income assistance will increase by $15 per month on July 1, 2011. This $5.65 million investment will help more than 31,000 low-income Nova Scotians.
• For the first time in 10 years, the Nova Scotia Child Benefit will increase by 22% per month, per child, effective July 1, 2011. This $4.8 million investment will help tens of thousands of families provide healthy food and other essentials for their families.
• Foster care rates will increase by more than 10%, or about $50 per child, per month, and help hundreds of foster families care for the children entrusted to them. This is an investment of $1.2 million.
• As promised, government will invest $1.3 million to add 250 child care subsidies to help more families access affordable child care.
• Cuts to personal income tax for every Nova Scotia taxpayer totaling $11 million.
• Support people to enter and stay in the workforce, by
  • investing $3.7 million annually so people on income assistance, including people with disabilities, will keep more of their earned income
  • allowing income assistance recipients to keep $150 per month of employment income, in addition to the 30 per cent income exemption already in place
  • doubling the flat-rate income exemption for persons with disabilities to $300, in addition to the 30 per cent income exemption already in place
• Increase income assistance personal allowances by $15 per month as of July 1, 2011, enabling approximately 31,000 adults to better provide for themselves and their families.
• Introduce fair drug pricing legislation to help reduce drug costs for Nova Scotians who depend on Pharmacare, and provide an additional $3 million in Pharmacare funding.
• Government will index the Affordable Living Tax Credit and Poverty Reduction Credit to keep pace with inflation. This $1.6 million investment is in addition to the $72 million spent last year to introduce these credits that help protect nearly 240,000 families with little room in their budgets against the impact of rising prices.

This government will undertake additional measures to make life better for families, and to help them make ends meet.

Fixing Canada’s Weakest Student Assistance System

Making post-secondary education more affordable is one of the most effective ways to support students and their families. By investing $42.5 million this year to fix our student assistance system, the government will

• Keep Nova Scotians’ tuition below the national average by investing $30 million in student bursaries to replace the expired Nova Scotia University Student Bursary Trust. This new, provincially funded commitment will provide a tuition reduction of $1,283 for Nova Scotia students studying in the province.
• Create the first “debt cap” in the province’s history, providing Nova Scotia students with a reduction of up to 36 per cent in total debt under the new $28,560 maximum debt cap. For students and parents, that means a drop of up to $16,320 in the maximum amount of debt a student may carry.
• Offer up to $612 per year in additional grants, through an increase in the loan-to-grant ratio from 20 to 30 per cent.
• Double the in-study earnings exemption on student loans – from $50 per week to $100 per week.
• Increase the amount allowed for the purchase of books by 50 per cent, from $1,000 to $1,500.
• Protect students by capping tuition increases at 3 per cent.
• Continue the successful Graduate Retention Rebate, which provides a tax credit of up to $15,000 to university graduates, and $7,500 for community college graduates, over six years.