Nova Scotia’s war on women
The coronavirus crisis is an absolute disaster for women in so many ways—work, income, personal safety, housing, family life. Judy Haiven takes a closer look.
Healthcare
Media release: Non-profits call on provincial government to fund counselling for victims of gender-based violence, including sexualized violence
Media release: In the past few years, the public mental health system has stopped offering counselling to people who have survived sexual violence unless they meet specific criteria for Mental Health and Addictions. In return, the public system often refers victims to non-profit services—which are now overworked and unable to meet the increased demand because there has not been a meaningful increase in funds to provide these services.
McNeil moves to new crisis, taking attitude with him
Richard Starr looks at premier Stephen McNeil’s governing style and sees a pattern: “McNeil needs a new raison d’être, and with remarkable dexterity he has found one with COVID-19, moving smartly from the manufactured fiscal crisis to the real crisis presented by the pandemic.”
Press release: Over 200 organizations across Canada call for #HealthCare4All
Press release: At a moment of public health crisis in Canada due to COVID-19, the Healthcare for All National Coalition is calling on the federal government to work closely with provincial and territorial governments to ensure access to healthcare for all people living in Canada.
An increasingly imperial Nova Scotia government must be held to account
Statement by Equity Watch on the provincial government’s autocratic handling of the pandemic. “It seems clear that to this government workers, organizations and opposition politicians are to be seen but not heard. “
Gary Burrill: Cracks and chasms – On long term care and the pandemic
Gary Burrill: We stand in admiration before the steadfast and herculean efforts which continue to be made at Northwood in the battle against the virus. And we call, when the clouds clear and the time is fitting, for an inquiry into long-term care and the pandemic–an inquiry not in search of culpability or accusation, but of understanding and improvement.
Authorities ignored early warnings from Northwood’s long-term care workers and unions
“The largest and one of the deadliest outbreaks of Covid-19 in a long-term care (LTC) facility in Canada is raising serious questions about how Nova Scotia’s government has handled the crisis – and whether ignoring early warnings from frontline workers and their unions had deadly consequences,” writes John McCracken.
Premier’s anti-union bias had deadly consequences at Halifax’s Northwood Centre
“Events of the last few weeks have provided a disturbingly strong case that Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil’s well-worn, anti-union biases prevented him from making the right decisions on fighting the Coronavirus in Nova Scotia’s long-term care (LTC) facilities,” writes John McCracken.
Is ageism colouring the response to care home deaths?
Nova Scotia’s failure to adequately protect nursing home residents resulted in Canada’s third worst rate of death from COVID-19, writes Richard Starr, who wonders whether ageism is a factor in both government neglect of the long term care sector and how it’s being reported.
Danny Cavanagh: We can do better in health care
“When this is over, we cannot listen to those right-wing voices rally against the heroes of today.,” writes Danny Cavanagh. “Our health care system needs national standards, and increased funding from the federal government. It’s time to eliminate profit from all of health care including long term care, home care, residential care and group homes. All those segments of the system must be brought under the Canada Health Act.”