Yarmouth MLA Zach Churchill has had a change in duties.
After almost four years as Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development he will now serve as Health and Wellness minister in Premier Iain Rankin’s Cabinet. He will also be in charge of the new office of mental health and addictions.
Churchill talked about his priorities in his new appointment.
“The pandemic and the health response to it, and vaccination rollout, are the single greatest priorities in the department,” said Churchill. “But of course everyday regular health care affects many Nova Scotians and mental health support affects many Nova Scotians. I’ve got an agenda to seek improvements here in our system as well.”
He added that he’s excited to play this major role in government. Churchill also looked back on some of his achievements as education minister.
“I feel quite proud of what we were able to accomplish there in education,” said Churchill. “Not only did we help ensure that our schools were safe during a pandemic and our students could learn there but we modernized the governing structure which I think long-term will have a positive impact on student achievement and outcomes.”
He also cited hiring thousands of new teacher and non-teaching support staff and bringing in pre-primary education among his achievements as education minister.
