the budget continued with the ndp's four-year plan to stop nova scotia's unsustainable spending through both economic stimulus and holding the line on department budgets. the budget also pledged to open more collaborative emergency centres, help the poor and disabled, provide more needs-based grants to university students, and invest heavily in rural road and highway repair. the budget projected a deficit of $211.2 million, slightly better than the $215.8 million deficit anticipated in the province's fiscal plan, and projected a surplus in the next year.