With the Provincial Budget being released this Tuesday, we spoke with Bridgewater Mayor David Mitchell about what it means locally.
When asked about what he thought residents in Bridgewater would be most pleased with he pointed to the spending on health care and infrastructure.
“All rural communities know the struggle of health care right now, so any spending in that area in this case adding more seats to Dalhousie’s medical program is helpful for our region.”
The main infrastructure expense crucial to the South Shore included in the 2020-21 Budget will be covered by the $385 million dollars allocated for roads, highways and bridges. Mitchell says Bridgewater is in desperate need of help in that department “We’re an old town with old bones. We have a lot of important projects that will improve people’s lives particularly the doubling of the highway.”
Despite receiving funds for infrastructure needs Mitchell still feels the way roads are funded is unfair “Towns in Nova Scotia pay for 100 per cent of their roads, rural municipalities in most cases have their roads funded by the province. So there’s an unfair balance that I plan to follow up on.”
Mitchell also would have liked to see more spending on affordable housing but he does feel the $17.3 million for the Standard Household Rate and the $18.7 million for the Nova Scotia Action Plan for Affordable Housing will help.
