Health care, housing, highways: Priorities in the provincial 2025 capital plan

CITYnews halifax / By Natasha O’Neill

The financial blueprint of where people’s tax dollars and funds from other levels of government was released on Thursday morning, showcasing the investment priorities for the province over the next year.

The Capital Plan details that the province is set to fund more than $2.35 billion in health care facilities, housing and other projects that help communities grow. It vows that Nova Scotians will see job opportunities and economic growth from the “historic” plan and improved hospitals, schools and roads.

“Moving our province forward requires a new mindset. That vision is captured this year in the largest-ever capital plan that will position us for future growth,” John Lohr, finance and treasury board minister, said in the press release. “These investments will support Nova Scotians and unlock opportunities to grow the economy.”

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Many people across the province, and the country, still don’t have a family doctor forcing many to wait hours in emergency rooms and clinics each day.

During the election campaign in 2021, Tim Houston promised he would “give you everything I have to fix health care.”

The province’s Need A Family Practice Registry — a key health-care indicator — was updated in early November for the first time since June when it reached a record 160,234 people without a family doctor or nurse practitioner.

While the latest figures pointed to a big improvement, with 145,114 people now on the registry, that number is far higher than in the spring of 2021, when there were half as many people on the list.

Here is a partial breakdown of where some of the money will go in health care:

• The Halifax Infirmary expansion project and Cape Breton Regional Municipality healthcare redevelopment project: $750.9 million
• For construction and renewal of other hospitals and medical facilities including projects in Amherst, Yarmouth, on the South Shore and at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax: $131.9 million
• For health records digital transformation (One Person One Record): $90.9 million
• Nova Scotia Health to repair and replace medical facilities: $42 million
• Repair and replace medical equipment: $32 million
• New modular dialysis: $19.2 million
• New diagnostic imaging equipment: $15.3 million
• The second year of the multi-disciplinary oncology partnership: $3.1 million

Housing continues to be top of mind for many people, as homelessness grips the provincial capital and municipalities beg for more funding and resources to tackle the problem head-on.

The Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia says that as of Dec. 10, 1,238 people in the Halifax Regional Municipality reported they were homeless. That figure does not include the more than 200 children who are homeless and receive support from Adsum, said Sheri Lecker, the group’s executive director.

In response, the government said it is planning on diverting $47.4 million for new public housing units, which it says is the first new funding for the projects in more than 30 years.

“Building more public housing is a key part of addressing the housing needs of our communities,” Colton LeBlanc, growth and development minister, said. “Hundreds more Nova Scotians will have access to the housing they need to thrive.”

The 242 units are an addition to the 273 homes the government announced in the last year, bringing the total to 515. An additional $31.6 million will go to repair and modernize existing housing.

The government also highlights:

• To build and renovate schools, including three that will open during the 2025-26 school year and two more planned Halifax Regional Municipality schools in Bedford and Dartmouth: $210 million
• Buy land for future needs: $50 million
• For information technology projects: $90.2 million
• Funding envelope for storm damage repairs: $22.5 million
• For provincial park repairs and upgrades: $9.2 million

Further funding of more than $500 million is going to projects in the Five-Year Highway Improvement Plan, including $55 million for gravel roads and $60 million for bridges.