The flag of the Gaels was raised outside Nova Scotia’s Province House Wednesday, but budget cuts are overshadowing the kick-off of Gaelic Awareness Month.
Two of five positions were cut from the Gaelic Affairs office in Antigonish as part of Nova Scotia’s 2015-2016 provincial budget.
“Cutting two very important staff members, who basically kept the office open and were the welcome wagon for the province, for the Gaelic community, it made no sense at all,” says Gaelic supporter Trueman Matheson.
Matheson is a Gaelic retailer with contacts across North America and Europe. He has started an on-line petition in hopes of getting government to reconsider the cuts.
“We didn't think they would go after such a small office,” says Matheson. “They basically had just a skeleton crew to begin with and they were doing very good work there.”
Gaelic Affairs Minister Randy Delorey says difficult choices had to be made.
“What we've done to offset that is work much closer with communities, culture and heritage, and the administrative support that they have to continue to support our staff, the core staff that provide and deliver those core programs to the Gaelic community,” says Delorey.
The opposition sees it differently.
“These people were doing important work in the Gaelic community,” says Progressive Conservative MLA Allan MacMaster. “Educating people on the language and culture and doing translations and also providing communication support to keep the community connected.”
Matheson says his online petition has now gathered more than 1,400 names and he's hoping it will help convince the minister to find some way to bring back the two staff members.
With files from Dan MacIntosh
