NDP vows to improve primary health care
Investment of $120 million will see that people can access care, when and where they need it
The News and affiliated newspapers asked each party leader 16 questions. Here are New Democratic Party Leader Gary Burrill’s responses.
Q. How would you improve access to family doctors? A. The Liberals focused on building a centralized health bureaucracy, while front-line health care got worse and ER closures skyrocketed. Too many Nova Scotians are waiting for family doctors and are unable to access timely health services.
The NDP is committed to investing $120 million to expand and improve primary care in our province. We will open Collaborative Emergency Centres, hire health professionals and work with doctors, nurse practitioners and nurses to create collaborative health teams in all regions of the province. This will help ensure that people can access the care they need, when and where they need it.
Q. How would you improve access to mental health care?
A. Individuals who are experiencing mental health crises or ongoing mental health issues cannot afford to wait months or longer for the system to respond to their needs.
An NDP government will: double the initial investment of the Mental Health Strategy to cut wait times by half; reverse cuts to community mental health organizations and invest an additional $150,000; and open three pilot mental health hubs at emergency departments in Kentville, Halifax and Sydney in order to take pressure off emergency rooms, help people in crisis, and connect them to long-term community-based care.
Q. How would you address the looming health care crisis tied to Nova Scotia’s aging population?
A. The NDP believes in a province where seniors are treated with respect and are able to live with dignity. Unfortunately, the McNeil government’s cuts to long-term care facilities adversely affected the quality of life of seniors.
An NDP government will reverse the cuts to long-term care, and make an additional investment of $60 million, so that seniors and those who care for them have the resources they need. We will invest to create new nursing home beds to take the pressure off our emergency rooms, fix the broken wait list for long-term care and work with families and care providers to help seniors feel like part of the wider community. Gary Burrill, leader of the Nova Scotia NDP, says the NDP believes in seniors being treated with respect and being able to live with dignity but the McNeil government’s cuts to long-term care facilities have adversely affected quality of life for seniors.
Q. What would your government do to foster job creation and economic growth in Nova Scotia, particularly in rural areas?
A. Unemployment has risen in Nova Scotia since the Liberals took office. We know that McNeil’s approach of cutting back and taking away is not the way to prosperity. In contrast, the NDP’s plan for investment in people will set Nova Scotia on a path towards a strong economy that works for us all. We will eliminate Nova Scotia University College tuition and raise the minimum wage to $15 will help ensure that people have the opportunities they need to stay and build a life here at home. We will also restore the Department of Economic and Rural Development.
Q. Would your party raise taxes or lower them? If so, how and for whom?
A. An NDP government will only increase the tax rate for individuals earning more than $250,000 by three per cent to invest in the things that matter most to people like health care and education. When the NDP served as government, we reduced the small business tax rate by 40 per cent.
Q. How would your government further reduce carbon emissions and build a green economy?
A. We believe Nova Scotia can lead the country in clean energy generation and in the fight against climate change.
An NDP government will: legislate a hard target for greenhouse gas emission reductions for 2030; continue the work of Efficiency One in reducing energy consumption; work towards creating a carbon-neutral government; establish new programs for renewable energy generation; invest in sustainable public transportation; and pass an Environmental Bill of Rights to guarantee that communities have the right to clean air and water.
Q. What do you propose to put a price on carbon and how would you implement it?
A. The federal and provincial governments have agreed to a cap-and-trade system for Nova Scotia. Any carbon pricing scheme should accomplish the following: reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, reduction of energy insecurity for lowand middle-income families and people living in rural areas, investment in transitioning to green energy and creation of local jobs.
Q. How would you address the issues teachers have raised about classroom conditions?
A. The McNeil government has shown an unwillingness to invest in our classrooms, and a profound disrespect for our teachers.
An NDP government will repeal Bill 75, resume negotiations with teachers in good faith and make the needed investments in our classrooms, including introducing class caps and hiring more classroom specialists, to ensure our kids get the support they need.
Q. What is your target for annual immigration to the province?
A. In co-ordination and collaboration with the federal government, an NDP government will work with ISANS, immigrant communities and other stakeholders to ensure that settlement and integration services are effectively provided to Nova Scotia’s immigrant population, that public schools have the necessary resources to meet immigrant children’s educational needs and that immigrants have access to training, affordable housing and employment opportunities. An NDP government will support Nova Scotia to be a welcoming place for immigrants.
Q. What would your government do to regulate legal marijuana use in the province and suppress illegal sales?
A. The NDP supports distribution of marijuana through the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission. It is our view that the legal age for marijuana should be no lower than the legal drinking age.
Q. Would you commit to fixed election dates? A. Yes. In keeping with our commitment to democratic principles, the NDP supports a fixed election date which would encourage and support the democratic participation of Nova Scotians and, in particular, young voters.
Q. What is first on your list of asks from the federal government?
A. Although there are many key areas where federal cooperation is needed, an NDP government would prioritize negotiating to increase our province’s capacity to invest in our health care and post-secondary education systems.
Q. How would you improve political dialogue in the province?
A. The NDP has a record of working across partisan lines to address issues of common concern, and we are committed to continuing this approach post-election. We are in favour of replacing our current first-past-the-post electoral system with one of proportional representation, which would encourage a more collaborative style of politics in Nova Scotia.
Q. How would your government foster a nationto-nation relationship with Indigenous communities in the province?
A. The NDP will recognize and take action on the recommendations and calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report. We will work towards increasing Indigenous representation in the health care field, providing cultural education for all and adopting and implementing the proposals of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We will continue to build relationships with Indigenous communities in Mi’kma’ki.
Q. If elected how would your government work to offer a better quality of life for people living in poverty and other vulnerable people?
A. Poverty reduction is central to the NDP platform. Since the Liberals took office in 2013, the number of people in Nova Scotia relying on food banks has increased by 20 per cent. One-third of food bank users are children. We believe this situation is unacceptable.
The NDP is committed to developing and implementing, in consultation with community stakeholders, a comprehensive poverty reduction plan. An NDP government will:
● Raise the minimum wage to $15, helping 130,000 people make ends meet;
● Fast-track the Employment Supports and Income Assistance Transformation;
● 4FU UIF TPDJBM BTTJTUBODF rate so that everyone can afford to buy healthy food instead of being forced to rely on food banks;
● Begin the design phase of a Basic Income Guarantee;
● Eliminate child care fees for families earning under $30,000 and work towards a universal $15/day child care system for all other families; and
● Invest to expand the availability of affordable housing.
Q. What action would your government take to improve transparency, accountability and access to information?
A. The NDP is committed to accountable decision-making processes in government and in the public sector. An NDP government will:
● Implement a system of proportional representation for provincial elections.
● 4FSJPVTMZ DPOTJEFS FMJNJOBUing the $5 fee for FOI requests, which is regularly waived, in order to reduce barriers to information.
● Task Communications Nova Scotia with promoting the schedules and agendas for Legislative Committees to the public.