Community groups and municipalities can now apply for up to $100,000 for projects to help recruit and retain healthcare professionals in Nova Scotia. The Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment Community Fund is managed by the office and has an annual budget of $2 million. Projects could include hosting community retention events, developing marketing materials and undertaking initiatives to make a community more welcoming to healthcare workers. Applications for funding must be received by December 19.
Advocates pushing for a vulnerable persons registry across Nova Scotia say the provincial government should replicate a system already in place in Kings County. The Kings County Regional Emergency Management Organization has had a registry in place since September 2019. The Co-ordinator says it can generate reports for first responders, telling them about residents who have mobility, vision or hearing challenges. The provincial government says the idea needs further study.
The official agent of the Liberal electoral district association in Preston has agreed to repay a 12-thousand dollar loan made to a Nova Scotia Liberal party leadership candidate last March. Elections Nova Scotia says the loan made by Kerry Foss on the behalf of the association breached the provincial Elections Act _ which restricts loans by riding associations to nominated candidates. The agency says Foss has accepted responsibility for her actions as part of a compliance agreement and also agreed that the loan will be repaid with interest.
The federal New Democrats are calling for a public inquiry into Canada’s pandemic response. N-D-P health critic Don Davies says now is the time to find out how well the government handled COVID-19 so that it can be better prepared for future pandemics. Davies says he wants to see a review conducted in public and at arm’s-length from the government. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos has also spoken about the importance of a review, but has not said when it would happen or whether it would be independent from government.
