HALIFAX, NS – Taxpayers aren’t the only Nova Scotians wondering how we will afford higher than budgeted wage costs.
 
Capital Health administrators planned for one per cent increases when preparing their budget. Today the Premier was not clear about how much the hospitals will have to contribute to the higher than expected costs in last week’s last-minute contract settlement.
 
“Nova Scotians expect their Premier to know the cost of a settlement before he approves it,” said PC leader Jamie Baillie.  “The Premier either knows the cost and won’t say, or he doesn’t know, and that is worse.”
 
Baillie gave the Premier an opportunity to reassure Nova Scotians that he knows how to fund the new shortfall and avoid cuts to services, but the Premier made no commitments.
 
“The Premier approved that deal. He either has the extra funding needed to help the hospitals meet their payroll, or he must tell them what they are supposed to cut,” said Baillie.
 
“To say he is waiting to see the costs tells us two things,” continued Baillie. “First, that the Premier approved a deal without knowing the costs and second, that he has no plan to deal with the consequences.”
 
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