Premier kicks off province-wide health-care tour with stops in northeastern N.S.
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston kicked off his province-wide healthcare tour on Monday with stops in New Glasgow, Guysborough and Cape Breton.
It's been a little more than a month since Houston was elected after a campaign rife with promises to fix what he called the province's broken health care system.
On Monday, Houston was in Sydney speaking with paramedics on the first day of his province-wide health care tour.
"There's a lot of people who just feel overwhelmed," Houston said. "People have shared with me the level of anxiety they feel just getting ready to go to their shift."
Dr. Margaret Fraser calls today's visit a first step towards a promise kept.
"I'm hopeful that this is more than a photo-op," Fraser said. "Time will tell."
She says while long-term solutions for Nova Scotia's emergency room woes will take at least four to six years, she's hoping Houston will hear out some short-term suggestions from ER workers, such as temporary expansion of the emergency room here at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital.
"If the emergency department were a bathtub, the drain has got a serious clog in it -- and it needs a bad dose of Drano," Fraser said.
Another hot-button topic during the election campaign was a glaring ambulance shortage province-wide.
The union that represents Nova Scotia paramedics is hoping other issues will be addressed, too.
"They did campaign on a promise to fix health care," said Michael Nickerson, the president of paramedics union in Nova Scotia. "And we will hold their feet to the fire."
At a polling station today, the premier's health-care promises weren't far from voters' minds.
"We need so much help," said one voter. "And mental health care as well - it's not just physical."
Earlier in the day, the premier toured hospitals in New Glasgow and Guysborough, then he was off to meet front-line health care providers from the Cape Breton Regional Hospital.
"Our whole team feels the urgency to really support our health care professionals," Houston said. "That's how we'll keep them -- and that's how we'll recruit more."
The four-day "Speak Up For Health Care Tour" runs until Thursday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.