This past month has been eventful in Nova Scotia. With the 1.19 billion dollars deficit, there were funding cuts that significantly impacted Mi’kmaw, African Nova Scotian, 2SLGBTQIA+, and disability communities. The cuts were towards staff, operations, and programming that support education, art, culture, and communities. While some funding got restored, there are concerns of what the future will be for Nova Scotia.
I wanted to touch on the process of some of the funding being restored. This was mainly the backlash from the disability community, their families and friends, and their allies when organizations announced that they were impacted. Many of the organizations that got impacted are working with the Human Rights Remedy either directly or indirectly.
The Human Rights Remedy is a legally binding agreement that the Government of Nova Scotia has to do to remedy the discrimination against persons with disabilities in Nova Scotia. As a disabled community member, there are two elements to consider, one is that the government has to put in the work to transform the Disability Support Program to meet the goal of the Human Rights Remedy. Two, the communities across the province need to be prepared for the more community-based support and involvement of persons with disabilities.
I need to make those two elements clear because the Government of Nova Scotia can provide more funding to the Disability Support Program to support the remedy and can still not meet the community’s expectations of working on the Human Rights Remedy. This is where I found the reasoning provided from Progressive Conservative’s MLAs interesting. Many of the MLAs responded to the backlash saying that they are still committed to the remedy because the funding and work on the Human Rights Remedy from the government point of view is still in progress (behind on the progress but in the works). But where will the support from the community be if the organizations that are providing the programming, socialization, and accessible places can no longer provide it due to cuts. Where the organizations are providing some respite for the families and caregivers so that persons with disabilities can be in the communities, in their homes, living the life of their choosing.
The backlash was massive that got the government to reverse those cuts in the disability and senior communities. It is clear that if there are enough people taking action to bring their concerns and stories to their MLAs, it is possible for change. It is also the perception that the disability community is small when in reality, 37.9% of the Nova Scotia population are persons with a disability. But this is just the beginning and it is not the whole story.
Not every Nova Scotian with a disability is impacted by the Human Rights Remedy. While it is incredibly important for the dignity and quality of life of persons with disabilities who need the support and who may need the support in the future, this is not the entire disability community. The Accessibility Act which will impact persons with disabilities and every Nova Scotian. Cuts to its progress will impact everyone because anyone at any time can become a person with a disability. Cuts to other communities such as Mi’kmaw, African Nova Scotian, and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities will have persons with disabilities as well. The understanding of how a person can identify being part of multiple communities is missing. The compounding effect of the cuts will be felt when cultural considerations and individual needs are not fully considered in these decisions.
I am bracing myself for what to come in the next few years. If the Government of Nova Scotia is not consulting with communities and Nova Scotians on the changes they are considering, we may be back in the same situation next budget talks for the 2027/28 fiscal year. If First Voice representation is not at the table in some way to provide their lived experiences, the same mistakes will likely happen. We cannot provide sustainable change if we do not consider the intersectionality of experiences we have across Nova Scotia. While I am happy that some of the cuts got rescinded, it is difficult to celebrate knowing what still needs to be done and what may be coming in the next few years to improve Nova Scotian’s quality of life.