Nova Scotia throne speech pledges reforms to health-care system, fixed election date

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia's Progressive Conservative government says finding solutions for the province's ailing health system is its top priority.

Lt.-Gov. Arthur LeBlanc on Tuesday delivered the new government's first speech from the throne, which repeated promises made during the summer's election campaign.

“We have to be honest about the challenges in our health system,” the speech said. “The challenges are significant, but they can be addressed, and doing so is the number 1 goal of our government.”

The government said it will offer incentives to recruit and retain more health-care workers. It also pledged to give people access to “timely primary care” while supporting paramedics by improving 911 response times.

The government is hoping to attract doctors to the province with a new pension plan for full-time physicians, and it is promising to increase surgical hours in order to reduce waiting times for medical procedures.

It also will invest in universal access to mental health services as part of what it says will be “the most progressive mental health support system in Canada.” The system, LeBlanc said, will be “one that embraces people and treats mental ailments with the same urgency as physical ones.”

The Tories are also promising legislation that will set fixed election dates, making Nova Scotia the last province to adopt the measure.

With rents skyrocketing and a lack of affordable housing in many areas of the province — especially in Halifax — the government says it plans to address what it calls a “crisis” in housing. Attracting and training more tradespeople will be a key element of the housing plan, LeBlanc said.

The government highlighted a promise to eliminate personal income tax on the first $50,000 earned by trades workers under the age of 30 as a way of keeping and attracting skilled workers.

Premier Tim Houston has promised measures aimed at holding his government to account, and the speech said there are plans to improve the province's freedom of information laws as well as to return the legislature's public accounts committee proceedings to its prior format.

Under the previous Liberal government, the committee was restricted to monthly meetings that dealt with previous reports of the province's auditor general. The Tories say the committee will be allowed to call witnesses covering subjects at its discretion while returning to as many as 40 meetings in a calendar year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2021. 

The Canadian Press