Cost of living crisis in Nova Scotia - QP
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : My question is for the Premier. Arthur Gaudreau, the author of the blog Halifax ReTales, has been tracking the cost of groceries for years. He's found that prices at major grocery chains have increased by 45 per cent in five years.
Thanksgiving this past weekend was a painful reminder for too many families that they are teetering on the edge of a cliff. Despite this, the Premier has done less than every other premier in the country to help with rising costs.
I'd like to ask the Premier « » : Why is he not doing anything to immediately help families with the skyrocketing cost of living?
THE PREMIER « » : Mr. Speaker, we're extremely concerned about affordability for Nova Scotians. We know Nova Scotians are struggling. We know Canadians are struggling. This is something we're extremely concerned about.
This is exactly why we're making changes that are sustainable in the long-term - increasing the wages of CCAs, addressing the issue of wages for ECEs and other Nova Scotians, the MOST program, the Seniors Care Grant. We will continue to support Nova Scotians in sustainable ways. Nova Scotians know that.
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Mr. Speaker, yesterday we spoke about Allan Smith, whose household faces hundreds of dollars of drug costs each month. He said: With the rising costs of food, gas, and power, getting a break on Pharmacare fees would make a big difference to our monthly bills and improve things for lots of other seniors I know in the same situation.
Mr. Speaker, as our health care system continues to deteriorate, what are the Premier's plans to ensure that seniors can afford to take their prescriptions, stay healthy, and stay out of hospital? Unlike the last time I asked this, I will remind the Premier that the Seniors Care Grant doesn't do it.
THE PREMIER « » : Mr. Speaker, obviously, stories like that are concerning. I hear them every day when I speak to Nova Scotians and meet with seniors' groups, as does the minister. We're concerned about affordability in this province.
I think initiatives like the Seniors Care Grant - which I believe is up to $1,000 now - help with other expenses. Any time you can help somebody with their whole entirety of household expenses in any little way matters to them. We will continue to look for ways to support all Nova Scotians, including seniors, for sure. We'll continue to look for ways to do that.
I think that everybody knows that there is a big affordability crunch hitting Nova Scotians and Canadians. We want to help them where we can.
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Mr. Speaker, yesterday when I asked the Premier about this, he said, ". . . of course we want everyone to take the prescriptions that have been issued to them by health care professionals. Of course, every Nova Scotian wants that." Indeed, we all want that, but it's not happening.
In a survey, Feed Nova Scotia found that the cost of prescription medication had a discernible effect on respondents' food insecurity. Fifty-six per cent stated that they had to sacrifice spending on food to pay for prescriptions. Thirty per cent found that it impacted their affordability of housing and heating, while 19 per cent curbed their leisure time due to the cost of prescription medications.
The Premier said he's looking for solutions and he's listening. I didn't get an answer yesterday, so I'll ask the Premier again: If he wants every Nova Scotian to take their medication, why is he choosing not to help them do it?
THE PREMIER « » : Mr. Speaker, I completely disagree with the premise of the question. Nobody is choosing to not help Nova Scotians. In fact, we're choosing to help Nova Scotians in every way we possibly can.
The review of Pharmacare, the review of Seniors' Pharmacare, the review of the formulary are things that are critically important. They're in the minister's mandate letter. We'll continue to look at that. We want to support Nova Scotians in every way we can and it's a big task. It's an important task. We have to do it in a sustainable way that really gets to the crux of the matter. That's where our focus is.