Over half of Nova Scotians think we’re on the wrong track as a province, but what does that mean? In terms of health care, it means that the waitlist for a family doctor, which was already nearing 100,000 Nova Scotians, has nearly doubled since Premier Houston’s PCs formed government. The waitlist is currently at a record high of over 160,000 people—or 16.2% of the population.
It means just under 80,000 emergency department hour closures in Nova Scotia, putting more Nova Scotians at risk of not getting the urgent care they need. Currently, 10.4% of all emergency department patients leave without being seen—an 8.2% increase from last year.
In housing, it means that 1,316 Nova Scotians are currently homeless in the HRM alone, with 150 people sleeping in ever-expanding tent encampments, due to the exorbitant rental prices sweeping the province. Last year alone, the average rent cost increased 17.1% despite the current 5% rental cap because the Houston government refuses to close the fixed-term lease loophole, which allows landlords to charge new tenants any price they want.
In daily life, it means that the cost of living has so drastically increased that, across Nova Scotia, the average person needs to make between $22.85/hr and $26.50/hr just to make ends meet, while the minimum wage stagnates at $15.20. This stark rise in the cost of living comes from a 16.7% increase in food prices and a 13.8% increase in power rates in the past few years. Nova Scotia has the highest rate of food insecure people, a record 28.9%, and nearly half of all Nova Scotians experience energy poverty.
The past few years have been hard on all Nova Scotians, and it’s time that the government truly invests in fixing these issues. Instead of wasting time nickel and diming their public workers who are just trying to fight for a living wage, the Houston government should be investing in Nova Scotia, and Nova Scotians.