Eastern Shore – NDP candidate for Eastern Shore, Sid Prest, says the NDP’s plan to hire more nurse practitioners to work in collaborative health care practices will reduce wait times.

“By adding more nurse practitioners, the NDP will make it easier for more Nova Scotians to get timely access to the health care they need,” says Prest. “With their advanced knowledge, skills and training, nurse practitioners can provide leadership in health promotion as well as illness and injury prevention. They can work independently in practices with family doctors and other health professionals to help patients manage a wide range of chronic problems.”

Prest says additional nurse practitioners will also improve care for seniors living in nursing homes.

“The NDP will hire nurse practitioners with special training in seniors’ health,” says Prest. “Rotating these nurse practitioners through the province’s nursing homes means more care is provided in nursing homes. Fewer seniors will have to visit a busy emergency room for primary care as a result.”

Nova Scotians have been calling on the Conservatives to address health care concerns for almost a decade.

“Nova Scotians want, and more importantly need, the health care system to be improved,” says Prest. “Nova Scotians know they can’t count on Rodney MacDonald when it comes to health care. It’s time for a change. The NDP, under Darrell Dexter’s genuine leadership, has a balanced, practical plan to keep emergency rooms open and reduce wait times. Hiring more nurse practitioners is the common sense approach Nova Scotians have been waiting for.”

Guysborough – NDP candidates for Guysborough-Sheet Harbour, Jim Boudreau, and Eastern Shore, Sid Prest, say the NDP's Graduate Retention Rebate for university and community college graduates will ensure more young people stay and build a life here in Nova Scotia.

“Nova Scotia’s universities and community colleges are already the envy of the country,” says Boudreau in reference to the retention incentive worth a maximum of $15,000 for university graduates and $7,500 for community college grads. “Young, smart, well-trained people are the future of our province. The NDP, under Darrell Dexter’s genuine leadership, have a plan that will offer recent graduates a real, tangible reason to stay, work, raise families and build a life in Nova Scotia communities.”

Prest says the addition of 250 new seats distributed to NSCC locations across the province will also help communities retain youth.

“These seats will go a long way in reducing the long waiting lists at Nova Scotia Community Colleges across the province,” says Prest. “The new NSCC seats will also close the gap in skills shortages. It will increase access to training in trades and professions that are in the highest demand. As a result, these new skills will directly translate into new, secure jobs. Essentially, in communities like Seaforth and Sheerbrooke, students can train at home for the trades they want to practice in their own communities.”

The demand for more NSCC seats is felt strongest by Nova Scotia homebuilders and the construction industry, which will need at least 7,000 skilled new workers over the next several years.
“The NDP will kick-start new home construction and keep jobs in Nova Scotia communities by introducing a 50 per cent rebate on the HST on newly-built homes,” says Boudreau. “For families, this will mean up to $7,000 off the price of a new home, and for young trades-people, this will provide a boost to jobs.”

Eastern Shore - NDP candidate in Eastern Shore, Sid Prest, says the Rodney MacDonald government has abandoned communities throughout rural Nova Scotia.

“When it comes to today’s families and most Nova Scotia communities, Rodney MacDonald is out of touch and out of ideas,” says Prest. “Communities like East Jeddore and Seaforth continue to see depopulation, growing unemployment, nagging health care concerns, a lack of adequate child care, deplorable road conditions and the list goes on and on. Families on the Eastern Shore deserve better. It’s time for a change.”

Prest says the Rodney MacDonald government seems satisfied with rural Nova Scotia struggling to survive. He says NDP Leader Darrell Dexter has a plan that will allow rural Nova Scotia to thrive.

“Darrell Dexter and the NDP are committed to a better deal for today’s families on the Eastern Shore,” says Prest. “He is committed to keeping emergency rooms open in communities Rodney MacDonald has neglected for years. He is committed to paving more rural roads with an open and transparent program that addresses the work that needs to be done.

“Darrell Dexter is committed to creating and maintaining jobs, and the NDP’s manufacturing and processing tax credit, which will directly and immediately help small and large businesses on the Eastern Shore, is targeted at job creation and job stability,” adds Prest. “Darrell Dexter realizes that these local jobs and the Eastern Shore economy is an important part of the foundation that makes up a strong provincial economy.”