"Currently, consumers do not pay HST on basic groceries like fruit, flour, and milk. However, many foods that families rely on are still subject to a 15% HST. These include foods like granola bars, pre- made salads, and sandwiches at the grocery store. A Nova Scotia Liberal government would remove the provincial sales tax from all food in grocery stores." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Ban restrictive covenants that determine where grocery stores can be built. This will increase competition and improve availability of grocery stores across the province, especially in rural areas" — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Invest in independent grocery stores by providing grants and loans so they can expand to better serve their communities and compete against large grocery stores." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"A Nova Scotia Liberal government will immediately halt all payments to Sobeys for the Nova Scotia Loyal program, and instead invest that money in developing a comprehensive marketing and growth plan for local products." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"We will invest $10M to expand affordable food programs across the province by building new food hubs, expanding programs that buy excess food from farmers to sell directly to Nova Scotians, and investing in mobile food markets." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"A Nova Scotia Liberal government will make public transit free across Nova Scotia, eliminating barriers to transportation and providing up to $5,000 per year in savings for those who switch from driving to commuting by public transit." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Our current social safety net is trapping Nova Scotians in intergenerational poverty, requires significant bureaucratic overhead, and often disincentivizes working. Together, we can transform the various social assistance programs to ensure that people who are struggling can afford the basic necessities and not find themselves on the streets. We will reform these systems so they work for everyone. To do that, we will spearhead an all-party committee to overhaul our social assistance model and examine alternatives, including a guaranteed basic income." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"A Nova Scotia Liberal government will make public transit free across Nova Scotia, eliminating barriers to transportation and providing up to $5,000 per year in savings for those who switch from driving to commuting by public transit." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"We will also invest to increase public transit capacity to account for the expected growth in ridership, ensure system efficiency, and support more accessible transit options." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"We’ll make the largest investment in rural community transport in Nova Scotia’s history, ensuring that community transportation organizations can lower costs and increase services." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Currently, consumers do not pay HST on basic groceries like fruit, flour, and milk. However, many foods that families rely on are still subject to a 15% HST. These include foods like granola bars, pre- made salads, and sandwiches at the grocery store. A Nova Scotia Liberal government would remove the provincial sales tax from all food in grocery stores." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"We will expand the Heating Assistance Rebate Program to help low-income Nova Scotians with their energy bills, saving them $1,000 a year." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"A Nova Scotia Liberal government will get rid of the carbon tax. To ensure we are still doing our part to lower pollution, we will work with other Atlantic Provinces to establish a Cap and Trade program that will reduce large industrial pollution without punishing consumers at the gas pumps." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Eliminate the fee for the Home Energy Assessment for all Nova Scotians" — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Increase rebates for heat efficiency programs such as the heat system rebates" — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

1. "Investing substantially in renewable generation with in-province wind, solar, and battery farms, and
2. Ensure that the sites in Nova Scotia with the best wind power generating potential are being used for projects to get our province off coal power and lower power bills."

— Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Further, all renewable energy projects would be required to either put electricity into our grid or pay into a fund that will be used to lower power rates for consumers." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"We’ll strongly regulate land leasing, water access, and generation capacity to ensure that all Nova Scotians are benefitting from our natural resources." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"A Nova Scotia Liberal government will make public transit free across Nova Scotia, eliminating barriers to transportation and providing up to $5,000 per year in savings for those who switch from driving to commuting by public transit." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"We will also invest to increase public transit capacity to account for the expected growth in ridership, ensure system efficiency, and support more accessible transit options." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"We’ll make the largest investment in rural community transport in Nova Scotia’s history, ensuring that community transportation organizations can lower costs and increase services." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"A Nova Scotia Liberal government will release the Student Housing Strategy that Tim Houston has been sitting on." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Ensure appropriate zoning to encourage density near our province’s universities so students have a place to live" — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"As of 2022, less than 9% of trades apprentices in Nova Scotia were women. We will never overcome our province’s labour shortage and get more housing built if we are only training half of the available workforce. A Nova Scotia Liberal government will invest $10M to increase training for women at NSCC in trades directly related to housing, with a goal to double the number of women being trained over five years. We will:

ʘ Increase the number of spots available for women to study a trade at NSCC,

ʘ Invest to develop programming for all ages to show young women that careers in the trades are dynamic, high-paying jobs that help our communities, and

ʘ Expand NSCC’s Women Unlimited program, which has already helped 1,000 women explore trades and technology education and find meaningful careers."

— Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"We will invest to re- open emergency rooms, build collaborative care clinics, and begin work on a new hospital to serve the Annapolis Valley region." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"We have a shortage of family doctors, and we need to do more to get Nova Scotians the care they need. The Municipality of Clare has a phenomenal primary care model that is fully staffed with healthcare professionals eager to work there. Healthcare professionals have also told us that they want to practice in such a collaborative setting. These clinics improve working conditions, reduce administrative burden, and keep doctors in Nova Scotia.

We can emulate this model province-wide, put a halt to the skyrocketing family doctor waitlist, and attach patients to primary care providers.

A Nova Scotia Liberal government will implement a collaborative care model province-wide by building and expanding 40 collaborative health care clinics across the province. We’ll work closely with existing clinics to make sure they’re running efficiently and are able to take on more patients.

We will increase the annual incentive for physicians from $5,000 to $10,000 if they agree to join a collaborative care practice and increase their patient rosters. We will also introduce bonuses and incentives of up to $15,000 for allied health professionals who commit to working at a collaborative health clinic for a minimum of 5 years.

Initially, we will focus on areas of the province that have the highest percentage of their residents currently waiting on a family doctor:

ʘ New Glasgow - 26.1% of population on the registry (8,890 people)

ʘ Yarmouth - 25.3% ... (6,284 people)

ʘ Bridgewater - 22.9% ... (6,382 people)

ʘ Bedford - 22.4% ... (10,395 people)

ʘ Amherst - 20.9% ... (2,834 people)

ʘ Sackville - 20.7% ... (10,082 people)

ʘ Halifax Peninsula - 20.1% ... (13,852 people)

ʘ Clayton Park - 20% ... (7,784 people)

ʘ Middleton - 17.7% ... (3,930 people)

ʘ Sydney - 16.9% ... (8,430 people)

ʘ Dartmouth/Cole Harbour: 15.3% ... (20,237 people)"

— Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"We will ensure family doctor waitlists and other healthcare data portals are updated monthly, reflecting actual wait times and data." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"We will forgive up to 20% of an in-demand health professional’s student loan annually for up to 5 years, based on the number of hours of in-person service." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"A Physician Assistant is a crucial role in meeting the growing demands of our health care system and expanding collaborative care in Nova Scotia, but there are currently only 19 physician assistants in the province. We will double annual funding to the program to get more physician assistants trained and able to provide healthcare." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"We will invest to re- open emergency rooms, build collaborative care clinics, and begin work on a new hospital to serve the Annapolis Valley region." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"A Nova Scotia Liberal government will provide dedicated support to seniors by doubling the tax-free seniors care grant to $1,500 each year to help them stay in their homes longer, stay healthy, and live better lives. We will also increase program eligibility so that households with up to $50,000 in annual income are eligible." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"We will work with seniors to develop specific housing plans to meet their needs. We’ll develop options like small walkable communities with homes for seniors or apartment buildings with specific wellness supports, and work to make sure seniors’ needs are being met in the housing market." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"To address this, we will name a Minister of Women’s Health to ensure that, throughout the system, a gender lens is applied to the delivery of healthcare, and a blueprint is adopted for improving women’s health. This will help us tackle specific health issues women are facing in this province, like endometriosis and ovarian cancer." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"In addition, we will re-establish the Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health to address current gaps, enhance research on women’s health issues, and strengthen the Nova Scotian health system response to the specific health needs and concerns of women in our province." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Set a goal of building 80,000 new homes by 2032 to eliminate the housing shortfall, aiming for a rate of 11,000 new homes per year—enough to accommodate Nova Scotia’s growth" — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Establish increased minimum density standards across our province that take into account proximity to transportation and services" — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Ensure appropriate zoning to encourage density near our province’s universities so students have a place to live" — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"A Nova Scotia Liberal government will work to accelerate the homebuilding innovation happening here in Nova Scotia. We’ll invest in new ways of building, like tilt-up construction, modular housing, mass timber, factory built housing, and other innovations that will enable our province to build more homes, reduce prices, and improve our province’s climate resilience." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"The current government is playing favourites by choosing where new homes can go. We can’t afford that. We need a rules-based system across the province that will encourage new housing. A Nova Scotia Liberal government will modernize housing legislation to encourage broader and more innovative housing solutions." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

1. "Streamline construction of condo developments,
2. Encourage more innovative housing solutions such as building rent communities that allow for a mix of ownership and rental units within the same developments
3. Establish a fast track approval process for developments that build rental communities."

— Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Invest $20M in additional grant funding streams to build new co-ops, expand existing co-ops, and fund co-op repairs." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"As of 2022, less than 9% of trades apprentices in Nova Scotia were women. We will never overcome our province’s labour shortage and get more housing built if we are only training half of the available workforce. A Nova Scotia Liberal government will invest $10M to increase training for women at NSCC in trades directly related to housing, with a goal to double the number of women being trained over five years. We will:

ʘ Increase the number of spots available for women to study a trade at NSCC,

ʘ Invest to develop programming for all ages to show young women that careers in the trades are dynamic, high-paying jobs that help our communities, and

ʘ Expand NSCC’s Women Unlimited program, which has already helped 1,000 women explore trades and technology education and find meaningful careers."

— Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Lower property taxes, especially in highly-taxed areas like the CBRM" — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Remove arbitrary and unfair penalties from our property tax system, like the drastic increase in taxes Hammonds Plains residents experienced after they lost their houses to wildfires" — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Ensure our property tax system incentivizes housing being built, which currently isn’t always the case. Currently, if you add more housing to your property whether by building or renovating, your assessment goes up and so do your taxes. For the next five years we’ll reduce or eliminate tax increases on properties that build more housing. This will incentivize more housing where it’s needed in Nova Scotia, and help bring down housing prices." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Increase taxes on large vacant lots in our urban areas so that it is not profitable for developers to hold onto large, empty lots that are zoned for housing without building" — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Eliminate the residential deed transfer tax (except for the 5% provincial out-of-province tax) to help downsizing seniors, growing families, and those looking to buy their first home by lowering costs and easing bottlenecks in the housing market." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"We’ll begin by directly replacing the approximately $4M that the federal government is no longer providing to women’s shelters in Nova Scotia. This is money that saves lives and provides housing and opportunities to women and children fleeing domestic violence. We have a moral obligation to restore that funding." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"A Nova Scotia Liberal government will release the Student Housing Strategy that Tim Houston has been sitting on." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Ensure appropriate zoning to encourage density near our province’s universities so students have a place to live" — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Our current social safety net is trapping Nova Scotians in intergenerational poverty, requires significant bureaucratic overhead, and often disincentivizes working. Together, we can transform the various social assistance programs to ensure that people who are struggling can afford the basic necessities and not find themselves on the streets. We will reform these systems so they work for everyone. To do that, we will spearhead an all-party committee to overhaul our social assistance model and examine alternatives, including a guaranteed basic income." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"The province is currently a funding partner for 110 organisations that control over 3,000 housing units. We will build more units in order to more than double the existing stock, building 4,000 additional units by 2032, being sure to include wraparound supports for residents. We’ll do this by investing in non-profit organizations, and creating a trusted non-profit developer program that will fast track applications from organizations who have experience building housing. The non-profit sector has the capacity and the knowledge to manage deeply affordable housing properly, and the government can assist by building new units and acquiring underutilized housing." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Current rent protections are hurting those they’re supposed to help. Right now, Tim Houston can change the rent cap on a whim—and that’s bad for everyone. We will implement a fairer system where the cap is based on inflation, market conditions, and vacancy rates on a regional basis until adequate housing supply is reached and there is a healthy vacancy rate of 3%. This will provide much needed consistency, stability, and predictability to our rental market." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Everyone experiences emergencies—and that shouldn’t cause you to worry about losing your home. A Nova Scotia Liberal government will establish a Rent Bank, a low-cost, high-value program that can provide quick turnaround, zero- interest loans to renters that find themselves stuck." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"We will end fixed-term lease abuse by ensuring that landlords cannot offer tenants fixed term leases longer than one year. Extensions beyond the fixed term would automatically transition the lease to month-to-month." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"The Rental Supplement provides support to low-income Nova Scotians who pay more than 40% of their income on rent. In 2023, Tim Houston’s government raised the cut-off from the 30% it was under the previous Liberal government to 50%, before lowering it back to 40% earlier this year. A Nova Scotia Liberal government will lower the cut- off back to 30%." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Despite recommendations to establish a Residential Tenancies Enforcement Unit to deal with especially egregious and time-sensitive disputes—and support from both landlords and tenants to do so—Tim Houston’s government decided not to implement one, and tried to mislead Nova Scotians about it. A Nova Scotia Liberal government will implement a Residential Tenancies Enforcement Unit." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Our current social safety net is trapping Nova Scotians in intergenerational poverty, requires significant bureaucratic overhead, and often disincentivizes working. Together, we can transform the various social assistance programs to ensure that people who are struggling can afford the basic necessities and not find themselves on the streets. We will reform these systems so they work for everyone. To do that, we will spearhead an all-party committee to overhaul our social assistance model and examine alternatives, including a guaranteed basic income." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"As of 2022, less than 9% of trades apprentices in Nova Scotia were women. We will never overcome our province’s labour shortage and get more housing built if we are only training half of the available workforce. A Nova Scotia Liberal government will invest $10M to increase training for women at NSCC in trades directly related to housing, with a goal to double the number of women being trained over five years. We will:

ʘ Increase the number of spots available for women to study a trade at NSCC,

ʘ Invest to develop programming for all ages to show young women that careers in the trades are dynamic, high-paying jobs that help our communities, and

ʘ Expand NSCC’s Women Unlimited program, which has already helped 1,000 women explore trades and technology education and find meaningful careers."

— Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"We’ll begin by directly replacing the approximately $4M that the federal government is no longer providing to women’s shelters in Nova Scotia. This is money that saves lives and provides housing and opportunities to women and children fleeing domestic violence. We have a moral obligation to restore that funding." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09

"Non-profit and service delivery organizations are not able to appropriately deliver for their communities or plan for the long term when they must apply for provincial funding on an annual basis. Not only do they not know what funding is coming from year to year but, once approved, the delivery of funding is often delayed by as much as 9-10 months into the fiscal year, leaving organizations in the lurch. We will prioritize multi-year funding agreements for successful organizations that have a proven track record of providing core programming for their communities." — Better Deal for Nova Scotians, retrieved 2024-11-09