2024 Election Q+A Responses

November 18, 2024

Question 4: We know racialized, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIA+ and disability communities experience disproportionate rates of food insecurity across the province. What specific actions will you take to reduce food insecurity for these communities if you get elected/re-elected as Premier?

NDP:

The NDP will grow good jobs in Nova Scotia, working with racialized, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIA+ and disability communities, to help people to thrive by:

investing more in training and apprenticeships, and
training, attracting and keeping more doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses and other health professionals with a practice-in-NS guarantee.

A NDP government will strengthen public services to help people get by:

raising income assistance rates and helping Nova Scotians make ends meet with an immediate monthly increase of $100. We will tie rates to the annual rate of inflation, and then work with the community to develop a long-term Poverty Reduction Strategy for Nova Scotia. We will also move those receiving the “essentials rate” up to the “boarder rate”– nearly doubling the amount that they receive,
providing more support and greater independence for people with disabilities. We will honour the incredible work of the Disability Rights Coalition by moving forward with vigour and determination in implementing the Remedy, its five-year plan to correct systemic discrimination against persons with disabilities. With a fresh energy from a new government, we can make sure that Nova Scotians with disabilities can lead independent and barrier-free lives,
delivering more childcare where it is needed. This is an investment that just makes sense for Nova Scotia, because for every dollar invested there is a $2.23 increase in GDP. We will establish a pilot program with four new publicly owned and operated childcare centres in underserved areas, provide capital funding to
schools to provide more
childcare spaces closer to home for parents, and make childcare opportunities fairer for all through a centralized waitlist, and
standing up for equity-seeking groups by fully funding the 2SLGBTQIA Action Plan in order to fight stigma and discrimination particularly for 2SLGBTQIA youth. We will increase core funding to women’s organizations across the province to ensure that survivors of sexualized violence have access to trauma-informed counselling. And we’ll end the misuse of Non-Disclosure Agreements and protect victims of sexual assault from the personal and institutional cycles of abuse, bullying, and bad behaviour.

Green:

Vulnerable individuals, especially those from underrepresented groups, often face greater challenges when accessing institutional supports, such as government programs. By moving away from complicated, bureaucratic, means tested programs and toward universal programs like Guaranteed Liveable Income, we can ensure that no one gets left behind in the fight against poverty and food insecurity.

We are also committed to the ongoing work of reconciliation. We support the right of Mi’kmaq people to have decision-making authority over the use of land and resources covered by the Peace and Friendship treaties, and will support solutions brought forward by Mi’kmaq communities.

Liberal:

Nova Scotians belonging to racialized, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIA+, and disability communities deserve targeted services that take their specific needs into consideration. We will work with those who have lived experience with food insecurity to ensure that these supports are truly effective.

We will work alongside, and provide funding to, non-profit organizations who deliver core programming that addresses the specific needs of these communities, including those who provide stable, affordable housing. We will implement housing-first policies as healthcare to combat poverty, and ensure that our healthcare system is structured in a way that removes service barriers for folks who face systemic oppression.

Feed Nova Scotia and similar organizations continue to find innovative ways to support these communities and to get them the food that they need, and we are committed to providing more funding to continue this support.

PC:

Our government unveiled the Equity and Anti-Racism Strategy – the first of its kind in Canada. Its goal is to ensure a whole-government approach in addressing systemic hate, inequity, and racism.

The strategy details actions to ensure this work reaches all regions, communities, and people of our province. Through the strategy we will develop the first Nova Scotian action plan dedicated to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. The plan will work to meet community needs and address hate and discrimination based on gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. The Office of Equity and Anti-Racism Initiatives will work with the community to create the plan.

Another important part of the Equity and Anti-Racism Strategy is the Health Equity Framework – another Canadian first. It contains actions to make Nova Scotia’s health system more appropriate, effective, and free from barriers and discrimination.

Question 3: Nova Scotia has one of the highest rates of food insecurity and poverty in Canada. Within the powers of the Government of Nova Scotia, what approach will you take to reduce the numbers of people experiencing food insecurity and poverty across the province if you get elected/re-elected as Premier?

NDP:

The NDP will deliver real benefits for the people of Nova Scotia by:

strengthening public services from action on the climate crisis and better protecting our coastline, strengthening schools and our kids’ education, to building a strong, prosperous economy with a secure future for Nova Scotia families,
tackling housing and ensuring Nova Scotians have a secure and affordable home by getting more homes built, making them more affordable, protecting the rights of renters, and putting people on the path to home ownership,
helping bring down monthly household costs including gas, cell phones, power bills, phone bills internet, heating costs, vehicle license fees, raising income assistance rates,
providing better and faster healthcare and medication costs, and
boosting our economy that includes working with local communities, labour, and First Nations as partners in economic growth and sustainability.

The NDP platform that provides details is at https://www.nsndp.ca/action-2024.

In the NDP platform there are many plans to help people avoid food insecurity. Housing is one of the most expensive parts of anyone’s basic costs. A NDP government will protect renters, home owners and prevent Nova Scotians from homelessness by:

putting an end to spiraling rent increases with rent control by establishing rent control that cuts in half the allowable Tim Houston rate increase (2.5% from 5%). We will also close the Houston fixed-term lease loophole that has allowed landlords to exploit Nova Scotia’s tight rental market and charge double-digit rent increases,
providing $900 housing rebates for low-income renters and homeowners by bringing in a new rent and mortgage tax rebate for low- and middle-income households. The Affordable Homes Rebate will help hundreds of thousands of renters and homeowners by providing an average annual rebate of $900 when their household incomes are under $70,000 a year – so it will benefit approximately half of all Nova Scotia households,
protecting renters from unfair evictions and renovictions by reversing the Conservatives loosening of eviction rules, establishing eviction and renoviction protection that works for both tenants and landlords, and creating a new Residential Tenancy Enforcement unit, as was recommended by the government’s own consultant,
creating a path to home ownership through a new Rent-to-Own Starter Homes Program that combines more home construction with lower up-front costs for first-time buyers. We will work with the growing factory-built home construction industry to deliver high quality, energy efficient, affordable homes to first-time home buyers with a household income of less than $100,000 per year. Rents will be used to build equity in the home for the new owner who can choose to continue to work toward ownership or sell after an initial 5-year contract.

A NDP government will also build more non-market and co-op homes to tackle the housing shortage and have set an ambitious initial goal of 30,000 new affordable rental homes by:

leveraging federal funding to make our province’s dollars go much, much further;
working with municipalities to identify land they can commit to needed housing construction and to speed up and standardize construction planning and approval timelines, getting to “yes” faster and without delay;
enable municipalities to levy a tax on vacant lots that are zoned for residential development but where developers are delaying builds;
cutting red tape and encouraging more development across all non-market housing.
taking meaningful action to tackle homelessness in Nova Scotia beginning with reversing Houston’s rent supplement eligibility decision – a move that has pushed more people into homelessness – and ensuring no one pays more than 30% of their income on housing costs.

GREEN:

GLI is the way forward to eradicate poverty, lower healthcare costs, and ensure that more people can find housing and pay their bills. It means having an income floor, an amount based on real costs, that no one will fall below. This opens up opportunities for people to start businesses, provide care to others, grow food, gain further education, create, make and live a healthier life with less stress and anxiety. It also means that typically unpaid labour, like taking care of loved ones, can be more sustainable for families. This focuses on the value of people as humans, rather than their ability to work countless hours in sometimes questionable working conditions.

LIBERAL:

We recognize that food insecurity and poverty are caused by a number of issues, specifically the lack of available affordable housing, and lack of access to healthcare. Our strategy focuses on addressing the root causes to limit food insecurity and poverty in our province. We will invest in non-profit and co-op housing providers to increase the number of deeply affordable housing units. We will implement a Rent Bank to provide interest-free loans to Nova Scotians in emergency situations who need to stay in their homes, among other renter protections. We will use housing-first policies to keep folks connected to supports, and out of emergency rooms. We will attach more people to primary care doctors through building and expanding 40 collaborative care clinics across the province. We will also ensure that food across the province is accessible and affordable by providing free public transit, eliminating food deserts, and investing in vital services, such as those provided by Feed Nova Scotia, to ensure that there is immediate support for those in need.

PC:

As a government, our focus is on long term solutions that break the cycle of intergenerational poverty, while providing relief directly to Nova Scotians who need it the most.

In the immediate sense, we will ensure that Nova Scotians have more money in their pocket to spend on basic needs, reducing the financial barrier to access. Longer term, we are tackling intergenerational poverty - this includes redesigning the foster care system, indexing income assistance, improving employment and disability supports, and bettering access to food education.

As this is a complex situation, it requires collaboration across government, communities and service providers. We know who the experts are and we are doing far more than just listening to them; we are providing them with stable funding so that they can take action and fill gaps in the system. Food insecurity is complex and requires collaboration across government, communities and service providers. As a government, our focus is on long term solutions that break the cycle of intergenerational poverty, while providing relief directly to Nova Scotians who need it the most.

As a government, we have and will continue to work on tackling the root causes of food insecurity, while providing immediate support and relief. We provide $1.2 million annually to support Feed Nova Scotia. The province recently provided an additional $2 million investment in Feed NS, to support their Holiday program and supplemental operational support.

We are focussed on cost of living initiatives to better meet the needs of vulnerable Nova Scotians. For example, income assistance has been indexed to better meet the needs of the vulnerable, we increased child benefits as measures that could help people as they struggle with the climbing cost of living, and we have committed to reducing the HST tax to help ease some of the financial burdens facing Nova Scotians. As well, we will continue to roll-out and expand the Nova Scotia School Lunch Program, the first of its kind in our province. Through an $18.8M provincial investment, the NS School lunch program serves lunches to more than 75,00 students in 255 elementary grade schools.

Question 2: What role do you believe the Government of Nova Scotia has in ensuring everyone across the province has the ability to choose and access the food they want and need?

NDP:

A provincial government has a huge role and responsibility to ensure that everyone across Nova Scotia is provided the ability to choose and access the food they want and need. This is achieved when the government puts people first and not the interest of politics and businesses.

An NDP government will always put people first by giving support and protection to the vulnerable, supporting people in a strong economy, strengthening public services, making sure people have an affordable home, and making life affordable. You can find all the details of the NDP’s platform here.

Green:

Adequate food is a fundamental human right. The Green Party of Nova Scotia supports legislative and financial measures to ensure that people can access affordable, healthy, culturally relevant, and local (where possible) food.

Less than 10% of the food in Nova Scotia is grown on local provincial farms and farmland is under threat by developers, further reducing our provinces’ food systems and security. When it comes to local agriculture, the GPNS would support legislative and financial measures for:

regenerative land management and agriculture,
protection of farmland to secure the local food supply,
investment and research into climate-friendly agricultural techniques, practices, and food production systems that make our food supply more resilient,
investment to assist farmers in moving from conventional to regenerative production systems that do not require the use of harmful substances,
enhancement of small-scale farming and community gardening initiatives that support local and sustainable food security systems in urban and rural settings, and
the development of local markets and distribution systems to support small scale, local producers.

Liberal:

The Government of Nova Scotia has a responsibility to ensure that folks across the province have access to healthy and affordable food close to home. A large issue with accessing food comes from the existence of "food deserts" across our province; we need to ensure that more grocery stores are built, and that people can get to and from the stores with free, accessible public transit. We need to ensure that the food is affordable, by increasing competition, investing in small businesses, and funding affordable food programs. The Government also has a responsibility to not only react to food insecurity and lack of access, but to be proactive with measures to limit this issue in our province by investing in the root causes such as lack of affordable housing and healthcare, and systems that assist people in breaking through intergenerational poverty.

PC:

The PC Party did not respond to this question.

Question 1: Why do you think people across Nova Scotia experience food insecurity? What do you understand to be the root causes of food insecurity?

NDP:

Food insecurity has been a consistent part of our communities. However, since the onset of high inflation has made the basics of life much more expensive, even out of reach for many, food insecurity has increased and more troubling is the depth of food insecurity that has taken root in Nova Scotia. A report last week confirmed the depth of the crisis of food insecurity stating that One-in-four parents reduced their own food consumption to keep their kids fed in the past year. Of these parents, 90 per cent spent less on groceries to pay other bills, 86 per cent started buying cheaper less nutritious food and 84 per cent skipped meals entirely.

The NDP is committed to tackling the root causes of food insecurity. The core reason for food insecurity is the lack of income – a job, a job that pays enough, income support – to provide a person access to good nutritious food. An NDP government will always put Nova Scotians first and will build a province that provides opportunities and helps everyone build a future in this province that belongs to all and leaves no one behind.

Green:

Easy access to affordable, healthy, local food is very limited in Nova Scotia. This is due largely to insufficient government support and the dominance of a few large grocery chains, which are often inconveniently located (or reachable only by car). Local producers have a hard time competing, and we see the ongoing need for charity-based food provision.

Liberal:

There are many causes of food insecurity, including inadequate and unaffordable housing, systemic racism and oppression, insufficient income supports, and barriers to things like childcare, transportation, and affordable food close to home. Nova Scotians’ experience of these issues is evident with the current housing, healthcare, and affordability crises we are facing. Food insecurity is an unfortunate result of these intersecting issues, and the Nova Scotia Liberal Party is committed to addressing the underlying causes at play.

PC:

We recognize that many Nova Scotians are facing economic challenges and food insecurity. Food insecurity is a challenge faced by many Canadians, and at its core, it is rooted in inadequacy of household income to meet basic needs. It exists when there are barriers to physical and economic access to meet basic dietary needs. We know that families experiencing food insecurity, whether its long term or temporary, experience poorer mental and physical health outcomes.