N.S. grant cuts will harm Mi’kmaq programs that address historic inequities: chiefs

CITYnews halifax / By The Canadian Press

The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs says the provincial government’s cuts to grants will mean the loss of Mi’kmaq programs that were built to address deep and historic inequities.

Premier Tim Houston said earlier this week he would restore some of the cuts included in the recent budget, including to programs that help the most vulnerable Nova Scotians.

Amid public outcry, he said the government will reinstate $53.6 million to programs for people with disabilities and seniors, and for African Nova Scotian and Indigenous students.

Of that, $83,000 will return to a program that works to increase Mi’kmaq and African Nova Scotian representation at the Schulich School of Law and $50,000 to the Unama’ki College Aboriginal accessibility program at Cape Breton University.

Related:

• Premier Tim Houston reverses some budget cuts amid public backlash

Sidney Peters, chief of Glooscap First Nation and co-chair of the assembly, says the province is still cutting from 21 other Mi’kmaq programs.

Peters says Houston’s actions this week show that the premier is not thinking about the Mi’kmaq people when he is talking about restoring funding for the most vulnerable.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2026.