HALIFAX -- The Nova Scotia government announced changes to its doctor recruitment incentive programs Tuesday as it faced criticism over the province's failure to attend a recent recruitment event in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Premier Stephen McNeil said it was "completely unacceptable" that Nova Scotia was the only province that didn't send recruiters to a national meeting of rural doctors in St. John's this past weekend.

McNeil said his government would be asking for an explanation from the Nova Scotia Health Authority, which is responsible for recruitment.

"I've asked the minister of health to reach out to the chair of the health authority for a clearer understanding of why they weren't there," he said.

The Opposition Tories raised the issue Tuesday during question period, citing a report that said the authority decided the trip to Newfoundland would have been too expensive and hadn't yielded results in the past.

"That's not good enough," said McNeil. "Obviously, we need more (doctors) ... That's why it's unacceptable that they (the authority) weren't at the recruitment drive."

Interim Progressive Conservative leader Karla MacFarlane said her "jaw dropped" when she heard the authority had passed on the recruitment fair.

"We have a crisis happening in rural Nova Scotia and we know there are 100,000 people without a doctor," she said. "Surely, we should have sent someone to see what type of recruitment was potentially there."

Meanwhile, the government said it would immediately remove geographic restrictions on three programs that offer financial incentives to doctors who chose to work in rural areas.

Health Minister Randy Delorey said doctors who work in urban centres would now be allowed to take advantage of the programs.

He said the changes were made after doctors and medical residents asked for more flexibility.

"We are recognizing that the need for physicians is not restricted just to rural communities," he said.

Previously, the Tuition Relief Program, the family Medicine Bursary and the Debt Assistance Plan were only available to rural doctors.

The Tuition Relief Program repays up to $120,000 of a doctor's medical school tuition in exchange for a five-year commitment to practice in the province, while the Family Medicine Bursary provides residents $60,000 to establish a family practice in exchange for a three-year commitment to practice in Nova Scotia.

The Debt Assistance Plan offers eligible physicians who choose to practice in the province between $20,000 and $45,000.

Under the changes, the three programs will also be made available to doctors working in full-time, part-time and locum positions.