The Nova Scotia Health Authority voted unanimously yesterday to open their meetings up to the public.
NSHA has six meetings a year and have proposed making four of them public.
MLA Tammy Martin, the NDP’s health critic, introduced legislation in February calling on government to open those meetings up to the public, though the bill didn’t make it past first reading.
She believes the public should be able to see where their tax dollars are going and what is being planned for healthcare in the province.
She cited the recent announcement of two hospital closures in Cape Breton, saying locals were shocked to learn about the impending closures.
Martin says she’s happy to see NSHA making the move but says they’re taking too long to implement it.
NSHA plans to start publishing meeting notes online first then open the meetings up the next fiscal year.
“They’re saying they’re going to take a year to implement, which boggles my mind because what is there to implement?” says Martin. “Post your meeting, post your agenda, invite the public.”
Martin says Health Minister Randy Delorey is denying influence by her party but she’s still pleased the meetings will eventually be made public.
“It’s a step in the right direction and we consider this somewhat of a win for us because we’re pushing the people’s voice and the NSHA heard us.”
Story by Brittany Wentzell
Twitter: @BrittWentzell
