A new campaign called Spell It Out was launched by the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU) this week.
The union says Stephen McNeil and the provincial government have turned their backs on patients, families, nurses, healthcare professionals and doctors.
“Stephen McNeil and his Liberal government have created chaos in our hospitals, stranded more than 100,000 people without a family doctor, and seniors are struggling without the long-term care they need — yet McNeil continues to deny that there is a crisis in healthcare,” said NSGEU president Jason MacLean in a news release.
“The Nova Scotia Liberals own this crisis and patient care is suffering around the province. It’s time for the impact of their crisis to be spelled out for them.”
WATCH: Spell It Out video launched by the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union
MacLean says the interactive campaign will allow Nova Scotians to voice their concerns before MLA’s go back to work in the legislature later this month.
“It’s an opportunity for Nova Scotians to let the McNeil government know that they believe health care is in crisis as well and he should recognize it once and for all going into the opening of the house,” he said.
READ: Nova Scotia court grants intervenor status to unions in Bill 148 review
The NSGEU isn’t the only union launching a campaign against the provincial government.
The Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU) is also expressing their displeasure with McNeil in a series of ads.
WATCH: A recently launched ad by the Nova Scotia Teachers Union
Nearly two weeks ago, the Liberals decided to implement a number of recommendations from Avis Glaze, who carried out an education system administrative review.
Among the recommendations that the province plans to implement is the closure of all English school boards and banning principals and vice-principals from the union.
READ MORE: Report recommends scrapping most N.S. school boards, says system isn’t working
Liette Doucet, the president of the NSTU, says the report and its implementation won’t do anything for students.
“We’ve been asking for supports for our students, we’ve been asking for the government to invest in education and to make education better for our students. We have not seen that happen,” she said.
Unions in the province have had a strained relationship with the liberals for years.
“When you look at what happened last year, we thought the relationship was bad last year, we’re looking now at this,” said Doucet.
“This is the second year that the government is attacking teachers, attacking unions and not doing anything for education and our students and so yeah, I don’t that relationship being repaired anytime soon.”
WATCH: Thousands of Nova Scotia teachers rally outside province house, protesting Bill 75
Despite two different campaigns against his government but unions, McNeil doesn’t seem concerned.
“They’ve not been supportive of many of the decisions that I have made over the last five years, four years. This is just the next phase for them to make their voices heard,” he said at Wednesday’s state of the province address.
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