PC MLA claims $300 million "discrepancy" by Grits
The McNeil government needs to outline specifically what its $41.5 million Healthcare cut, announced today, will impact, according to a news release Wednesday from the NDP .
Progressive Conservative Health critic Chris d’Entremont says in a news release Wednesday that, in fact, McNeil Liberals must answer for a $300 million discrepancy in the Nova Scotia Health Authority budget.
Today, says d'Entremont, the Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) released its business plan with a budget of over $1.82 billion. The budget passed by the Liberals in April only budgeted $1.52 billion for the NSHA. The Liberals, he says, have been unable to provide a good explanation for the difference.
“This speaks to the incompetence of the Liberal government,” said d’Entremont. “If the Liberals cannot even get the numbers right on paper or explain them, how can we trust them with patient care?”
According to the NSHA Business Plan budget, administration went up $33.3 million, meanwhile mental health funding went down $25.6 million.
d’Entremont says the Liberals must answer for the major discrepancy in the numbers.
“Our population is aging, waitlists are getting longer and longer. People need certainty health care will be there for them when they need it,” said d’Entremont. “This merger is too important for the Liberals to get it wrong.”
Earlier this morning, the NDP release stated, without a formal announcement or media briefing, the provincial health authority released its 2015-16 business plan which contained more than $41 million worth of “mitigations” to health care programs and services.
The NDP also complained that, while the plan contains categories from which cuts will be made, it provides no explanation for how the proposed spending reductions will be achieved.
“Instead of releasing this document on time, the McNeil government waited until after the spring sitting of the Legislature was over, and then quietly sent it out with the Premier out of the province,” says NDP Leader Maureen MacDonald. “Specifically, which programs are being cut to provide these savings? How will the cuts impact various regions of the province? Is the government considering outsourcing and privatizing laundry and food services? If they intend to increase revenue through fees such as parking, what specifically will these increases be?
The business plan, which one political analyst told SCT "looks like an 18-page flyer", was described as indicating significant spending reductions in areas such as acute care, mental health services and addictions services, without any formal explanation for how the reductions are being achieved.
“The public deserves to know the specifics of this business plan. Unfortunately, the McNeil government has once again failed to be open and transparent, which will undoubtedly bring more turmoil to our health care system,” says MacDonald.
