DARTMOUTH: Closures of museums and Visitor Information Centres, including the one at Halifax Stanfield Airport, come as the result impact of layoffs announced Feb. 19 by Premier Tim Houston, the N.S. Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU) said.
The NSGEU said that “Nova Scotia will be less welcoming to tourists, and have fewer good paying rural jobs, and less culture and heritage museums thanks to the series of layoffs.”
“This has become an all too familiar situation in Nova Scotia,” said Sandra Mullen, President of the NSGEU.
“Governments make big spending commitments favoured by corporations, they reduce revenue through tax cuts, and then when it comes time to be held accountable, it’s the workers who are left to pay the price,”
“These layoffs come after the Finance Minister reassured workers that front line jobs would not be cut.”
The layoffs made today will mean the closure of visitor information centres and museums around the province at a time when tourism is an important source of revenue.
“This is not just about hotel bookings, this is about people on the front line welcoming visitors to our province and providing them with information on restaurants, local businesses, community events, all of which promote our overall economy,” said Mullen.
“Telling people to ‘Google it’ ignores our greatest tourism advantage: our people and their hospitality.”
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Other layoffs will impact food inspectors, agricultural labs, and highway construction services.
“Because of the financial choices made by Tim Houston and his government, Nova Scotia is facing its largest deficit in the province’s history,” said Mullen.
“Taking good paying jobs out of the our rural communities is not the solution. I wonder how many rural MLAs support the cutting of these jobs? And is this the end of job losses or just the beginning?”
Government will return to the legislature on February 23.
“The Premier now has a track record of attacking hard working and dedicated civil servants,” added Mullen.
“We will be looking at his budget and any new legislation for further attacks on them.”