N.S. Progressive Conservative leader focuses early campaign on health-care shortfalls
Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston argued Monday he's the politician likeliest to fix shortcomings in the province's health system, in a campaign where he's casting himself as a Red Tory unafraid to spend public dollars.
Houston appeared at a news conference with Michael Nickerson, the business manager of the paramedics union, and told reporters it's often quicker to get a pizza deliveredin the province than to receive ambulance services.
The 51-year-old chartered accountant has been basing his party's campaign on the theme of deficit-financed increases in the health budget as a key to post-pandemic recovery.
"A year before talk of the election was in the air, we were talking about health care," he said. "We understand as a party that there are investments required, and we understand this province will run deficits for a few years because we ... need to invest in infrastructure."
Nickerson, with the International Union of Operating Engineers, appeared by video conference and said that on Sunday there were 12 reports of two or fewer ambulances available in different counties across the province, a situation the union refers to as "code critical" because it could lead to a shortfall for some communities.
The union official also said over the weekend 30 out of 88 of the province's ambulances were out of service because staff were unavailable to operate them. Emergency Health Services, a company that manages and operates the province's ambulance system, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nickerson thanked Houston for inviting him to appear but said his presence at the news conference doesn't mean his union is endorsing the Tory policies ahead of the Aug. 17 provincial election.
Houston said last year that if he wins power, his government will add $127 million to the health budget, and that improvements in primary care will help relieve pressure on ambulances, as will his party's plan to add 2,500 long-term care rooms.
The ambulance shortfall is often a sign of other issues in the health system, Houston said Monday, such as overloaded emergency rooms that force paramedics to remain lined up at hospitals.
The political leader also said a Tory government would consider increasing the emergency services budget once his party sees data on call volumes and staffing levels. "We will make the investments that are necessary, because everything builds on that," he said.
The NDP also focused its Monday announcement on health care, emphasizing that it would end fees for use of ambulances.
Party leader Gary Burrill met with Danica Pettipas, who said in a news release she was shocked when she received four ambulance bills for travel between the Halifax Infirmary, the COVID-19 unit and a recovery hospital during her illness with COVID-19. She said two COVID-related ambulance fees were waived, but two did not qualify to be dropped.
Burrill said an NDP government would permanently eliminate ambulance fees for all Nova Scotians, distinguishing his party from the Progressive Conservatives on this issue. Houston said he doesn't agree with ending fees, as it might lead people to use ambulances simply to avoid expensive hospital parking.
Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Iain Rankin focused on economic issues on Monday, announcing that a re-elected Liberal government would invest $45 million over five years to renew a program that encourages businesses to invest in clean technologies.
He made the announcement at Den Haan Greenhouses in Lawrencetown, N.S., where the company used a similar program to purchase energy-efficient LED lighting for crops.
In March, the Liberal government released a report on the province's ambulance system by U.S.-based Fitch and Associates. The study, submitted in 2019, found that ambulances are spending too much time in non-productive, non-emergency activities. Health Minister Zach Churchill said at the time that many recommendations were being implemented, adding that the data in the report does not suggest a blanket increase in wait times across the province, though challenges remain.
When the legislature was dissolved and the election called Saturday, the Liberals held 24 of 51 seats, followed by the Progressive Conservatives with 17. The New Democrats had five seats, and there were three Independents and two vacancies. This election features races in 55 ridings because the province decided last year to revive four "protected" seats in districts where the government wants to increase the participation and representation of Acadians and African-Nova Scotians.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson Airport: police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday.
MPs summon ArriveCan contractor to the House to be admonished in rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archaeological site in southwest France.
10 years in U.S. prison for Canadian man who stole millions with fake psychic fraud
A former Montreal resident has been sentenced to 10 years in a United States federal prison for a multi-decade fraud that manipulated more than one million Americans into sending money to fake psychics.
'Enormous sum of money': Actor Hugh Grant settles privacy lawsuit against tabloid
British actor Hugh Grant has settled a lawsuit against the publisher of Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspaper, The Sun, over claims journalists used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house, he said on Wednesday.
O.J. Simpson was chilling with a beer on a couch before Easter, lawyer says. 2 weeks later he was dead
O.J. Simpson's last robust discussion with his longtime lawyer was just before Easter, at the country club home Simpson leased southwest of the Las Vegas Strip. About a week later, on April 5, a doctor said Simpson was 'transitioning.'
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.