Health care is the priority, but several issues require attention at premier's summit

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston was largely elected on his campaign promise to fix the health-care system.

Now as chair of the forum for Canada’s premiers, he’ll set the table for a two-day discussion on the very same topic but says there's room for discussions on several other issues.

"Getting the Council of the Federation together, and having the premiers here is to learn from each other to share ideas, what's working and what's not working," said Houston.

One health-care idea Houston floated was to stop interprovincial recruitment of health-care professionals, he asked his government to stop doing it.

“I just think there are better ways to recruit," said Houston. "It's a big world out there."

Political scientist and Cape Breton University professor Tom Urbaniak says a pan-Canadian health-care recruitment program could be developed to address issues like health-care worker shortages across the country but as for stopping cross-provincial recruitment, it could be a hard bargain.

“I’m not sure that gesture is going to be reciprocated by most of his colleagues," said Urbaniak, saying he thinks Houston might change his tune on recruitment.

“If there isn’t any reciprocal action on the part of the other premiers then I expect Houston himself will soon forget that he made that statement and Nova Scotia will resume its previous practices," he said.

There will be other competing issues outside of the health-care agenda, with attention given to issues like the federal carbon tax which has been a hot-button political issue.

There are differing views on the carbon tax right across the country from one province to the next. B.C. Premier David Eby says the carbon tax is working.

"We've seen declining carbon pollution in B.C. since 2017, using the carbon tax effectively," said Eby. "There's consensus in our legislature in British Columbia that the carbon tax was an effective and efficient way to fight carbon emissions."

Eby says instead of protecting carbon sources like heating oil or natural gas they should be protecting people.

"We're taking the resources from the carbon tax and giving it back to the people," said Eby. "We've doubled the carbon tax and climate action rebate and we're supporting people with switching to clean electricity."

In late October, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a three-year pause on the carbon tax on home heating fuel for Atlantic Canadians.

The move was welcomed by provincial leaders across the Maritimes, but newly elected Manitoba premier Wab Kinew says it’s only fair to remove the carbon tax for all Canadians who heat their homes with oil or natural gas.

"We want fairness, said Kinew."When you look at it from my province's perspective we have already put the down payments on clean electricity. We've been paying it off for the last fifty years and so we are definitely going to be asking for fairness from the federal government."

Houston agrees and says other provinces deserve a break, especially when it comes to heating your home, saying it's also an affordability issue.

"It was a good first step, we spent a lot of time presenting a very reasoned case why the carbon tax was not effective in Nova Scotia," said Houston.

The meetings among Canada’s premiers and territorial leaders continue Monday in Halifax.

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.