“Timely essential healthcare is a right of every Nova Scotian including seniors,” says Ian MacDonald, Chair CARP Nova Scotia.

Before Nova Scotians cast their vote on May 30th they should ask every candidate: does their party agree that timely essential healthcare is a right of every Nova Scotian?

Halifax, NS, May 25, 2017: On May 9th, CARP Volunteer Chair Ian MacDonald in CARP N.S. letter on wait times and CARP N.S. top priorities called for a “bold non-partisan coming together of party leaders to affirm that timely essential healthcare is a right of every Nova Scotian”.

Therefore, if you and your party can say “Yes, we believe timely essential healthcare is a right of every Nova Scotian,” your party along with your opponents will give Nova  Scotians the confidence that whether in power or in opposition that you will come together in good faith to create a non-partisan strategy,” Ian MacDonald, Chair CARP May 10, 2017 letter to the party leaders of the Liberal, Progressive Conservatives and New Democratic Parties of N.S.

To date Mr. MacDonald is both surprised and disappointed by the failure of the leaders of Nova Scotia’s main political parties to affirm timely essential health care as a right of every Nova Scotian.

“How can voters have confidence in parties to reform health care when the parties cannot declare that timely essential health care is a right of every Nova Scotian?” Ian MacDonald, Volunteer Chair of CARP NS.
Ian MacDonald and Bill VanGorder
Health reform is the first of CARP N.S.’s Top Priorities for Nova Scotia’s aging population.

1. Health Care reform (Reducing surgical wait times to meet national benchmarks, increasing homecare funding and improving supports for caregivers) By 2020, funding formula currently applied to long term care should also be applied to home care. Collaborative care centres must be established across the Province so that seniors (and others) have local access to all health services.

We eagerly anticipate the long promised Long Term Care Strategy documents from the Department of Health.

Each of the 3 major party claims:

“Nova Scotians deserve health care that promotes access and offers the best possible care.” Stephen McNeil, Building on A Stronger Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Liberal Platform 2017.

“A health care system that’s there when Nova Scotians need it.” Vision Action Baillie PC Nova Scotia 2017.

“Nova Scotians deserve robust reliable health care that meets the diverse needs across generations.” Together we can do this N.S. NDP 2017 election platform.

Each of these parties has in the past decade been in power while Nova Scotia’s Health Care crisis continues to degrade despite increasing health care budgets. Every past governing party points to progress and every opposition party hoping to become the government point to their platforms as solutions yet Nova Scotians have heard it all before. What progress they have made in efficiencies has been helpful but obviously insufficient to meet the expectations and needs of Nova Scotians.

“Nova Scotians need its political parties to come together with healthcare providers, stakeholders and including patients to use and create evidence based strategy for health care. A strategy that can be used by the Department of Health and Wellness to ensure accountability and delivery of the right of every Nova Scotian to timely essential health care.” Ian MacDonald, Volunteer Chair of CARP N.S.

Declaring timely essential health care as a right places the needed urgency that is lacking in the parties’ claims. CARP’s position is that each major political party holds a vital piece of the puzzle of good strategic government. Each has had its turn and pushed its partisan agenda.

“CARP NS hopes and believes that the party candidates and their leaders can rise above their partisan politics to seize a grander vision of working together to fix Health Care rather than individually trying to fix the blame. After all don’t we all believe that timely essential health care is a right of all Nova Scotians?” Ian MacDonald, Volunteer Chair CARP N.S.

CARP is a national, non-partisan, non-profit organization committed to a ‘New Vision of Aging for Canada’ promoting social change that will bring financial security, equitable access to health care and freedom from discrimination. Our mandate is to promote and protect the interests, rights and quality of life for Canadians as we age. Currently, we have eight thousand members in the province age forty-five years and over.

For media interviews, please contact:
Ian MacDonald, Chairman or
Bill VanGorder,
Senior Spokesman
CARP Nova Scotia Chapter
Phone 902 495-8284
[email protected]