Doctor plan narrows Tory-Liberal divide
08.05.2008 14:00
Health
- Source: cbc.ca
With a crucial budget vote ahead, Nova Scotia's minority Progressive Conservative government has agreed to meet one of the demands of the Liberals — to train more doctors. The province will pay for 10 more seats at Dalhousie University's medical school, Health Minister Chris d'Entremont announced in the legislature Wednesday. 'If we continue to see positive steps, we may be able to.'—Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil on whether his party will support the budgetHe said Dalhousie is adding five seats in the fall and another five in 2009. The change isn't part of the spring budget unveiled last week, but d'Entremont said he'll be able to make it happen with the money earmarked in the budget for his department. The health minister admits there was pressure from the Liberals, who had been pushing for more seats for aspiring doctors. "We had been looking at this for some time. Ultimately, with some urging from the Liberal party, with some added negotiations over the last number of days, we were able to pull this one through," d'Entremont said. Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil is refusing to say whether Wednesday's announcement is enough to win his party's support, but he's sending a signal that he may be ready to keep the Tories in power. "This is a positive step in the right direction when it comes to recruiting physicians, one that I'm very pleased that our party has been driving forward with," McNeil said. He said his party will consider the Tory government's latest move as it reviews the details of the budget and decides whether to vote in favour of it. "If we continue to see positive signs, we may be able to," McNeil said. Just last week, the third-party Liberals were saying they were disappointed with the budget. The minority Tories need the support of either the Liberals or the NDP to pass the budget and stay in power. If not, the government will fall, forcing an election. Did Liberals, Tories strike a deal? New Democrat house leader Frank Corbett wonders if the Liberals and Tories have struck a deal. "There certainly is a marriage of convenience forming here very quickly. The premier and the leader of the third party have been chatting and I think, if they don't have a deal, they're awful close to it, it appears to me," Corbett said. The New Democrats still aren't saying how they'll vote next week. Though the Liberals and Tories are talking, Liberal house leader Manning MacDonald said there is no deal and no promise to back the budget. "We haven't made any prejudgments on that, nor have we made any deals," MacDonald said. Premier Rodney MacDonald has repeatedly said that Nova Scotians don't want to head to the polls right now. The last provincial election was in 2006. Nova Scotia has had minority governments since 2003. Post a commentPeople have commented on this storyRecommend this storyPeople have recommended this storyStory Tools: E-MAIL | PRINT | Text Size: SMLXL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACKStory comments (0)Sort:Most recent | First to last | Most recommendedPost your commentNote: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are pre-moderated/reviewed and published according to our submission guidelines. Comment:Characters allowed: 2500PostSubmission policyRelatedInternal LinksLiberals launch ad campaign ahead of budget voteHealth HeadlinesCanadian AIDS meds may soon head to Rwanda00A bill drafted to allow low-cost Canadian-made AIDS drugs to be exported to developing countries may be on the verge of finally producing results.New research into mad cow-linked prions reveals silver lining00Prions — infectious agents that cause diseases like the human variant of mad cow disease — also have protective properties, new research suggests. Hackers' posts on epilepsy forum cause migraines, seizures00In a rare example of an attack apparently motivated by malice rather than money, hackers recently bombarded the Epilepsy Foundation's website with hundreds of pictures and links to pages with rapidly flashing images.Expected premier to be told about cancer tests: civil servant00A senior civil servant has told Newfoundland and Labrador's breast cancer inquiry he assumed Premier Danny Williams would be informed about lab testing problems in July 2005.New law needed to protect patients, cancer inquiry told00Newfoundland and Labrador needs new legislation to prevent future health-care mistakes from being kept secret, a former civil servant says.Health FeaturesHEALTH CAREGoing digitalOnline health records: Convenience vs. privacy HEALTH AsthmaHEALTHSpecial needsChildren with disabilities continue to face social barriers HEALTHVision careOpening our eyes to children's health issuesHEALTHLightning ProcessControversial training program comes to CanadaPeople who read this also read …
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