Thousands of Nova Scotians are still without power this morning as a result of the blustery  conditions this week.

Nova Scotia Power this morning has been reporting about 300 outages across the province, affecting nearly 15-thousand customers.

 

 

Gasoline and diesel prices both increased overnight in Nova Scotia.

Gasoline prices went up by 4.9 cents per litre, leaving the minimum pump price for regular self-serve gasoline at 155.3 cents per litre locally.

Diesel prices increased by 3.0 cents per litre, putting the minimum pump price for diesel at 189.6 cents per litre in the local area.

 

 

According to the annual report on Nova Scotia’s emergency departments, there were more unplanned closures of emergency departments in the province in 2022-23.

The report covers the period from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023 and it indicates the number of hours emergency rooms were unexpectedly closed was up to nearly 42-thousand, up 32 per cent from the previous year.

Provincial Health Minister Michelle Thompson cautions that the report is eight months out-of-date, and doesn’t reflect the current situation as she points to changes that have been made in the past few months.

 

 

Members of the Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union employed in 70 long term care facilities across the province have voted in favour of a five-year contract.

The retroactive deal includes improvements to wages, premiums, and occupational health and safety between 2020 and 2025.

Janet Hazelton, the president of the union, says the wage increases over the five years range from 12 to 17 per cent depending on the classification of the nurse, with newer nurses seeing higher increases over the time period.

Hazelton says the pay is improved significantly for those willing to work weekend and evening shifts.

 

 

Nova Scotia is offering a one-time, needs-based grant to post-secondary students aimed at reducing the cost of textbooks.

The province says almost 12-thousand students at universities and colleges are eligible for the $1,350 grant, which will be automatically deposited in bank accounts in January or halfway through a student’s study period.

Those eligible must be Nova Scotia residents who receive provincial student assistance or who would have qualified for help if not for a temporary increase in federal assistance this year.

The one-time grant will cost the province 16.2 million dollars.