HALIFAX — The first day of the fall session ended with an emergency debate on the current state of the province’s mental health services, something the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia argued is in crisis.
“To me, it’s a moral imperative that we get families the help they need when they have mental illness, but it’s actually better for all of us, it’s better for our economy,” party leader Jamie Baillie said after the debate.
Mental illness affects thousands of families in the province, he added, and many people are going without proper treatment.
Baillie brought up the issue last Tuesday, and called for a public inquiry.
“This is an issue that, yes, we’ve been dealing with in a number of ways over the last couple of years, but we know that more work remains to be done,” provincial Health Minister Leo Glavine said during the debate.
Earlier, during question period, he said the government has increased funding for mental health services in recent years, though the opposition argued the percentage of the health budget that goes into mental health services is half of the national average.
The coming weeks promise to be filled with questions on what the premier and his office knew about former cabinet minister Andrew Younger‘s controversial decision to use a law to get out of testifying in court, how the government will deal with public sector unions, and what kind of challenges will sprout with taking in Syrian refugees.
Still, Baillie promised this issue won’t fade away.
“We’re not going to be satisfied until people get the help that they need,” he said.
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