Greens promise care plan for seniors
Liberals focus on women's health, PCs make no announcements
Latest
- Liberals promise to make women's health care affordable
- Advance polling begins Saturday
- Where the leaders are today
Speaking at a nursing home in Riverview, Green Party Leader David Coon announced several measures he would take to improve seniors' care as premier.
"Our aging population deserves to age with dignity and receive the quality of care that they need right in their communities," Coon said.
He said he would increase the minimum number of hours of care seniors receive in long-term care to 4.1 hours per day. Under the Nursing Homes Act, residents are currently guaranteed 3.1 hours a day.
Coon said the cost estimate for the change, which would happen over four years, is $185 Million.
He would also raise the comfort and clothing allowance to be indexed with inflation, and cap special care home rates at $80 a day, he said.
"It's one of the reasons that there are seniors stuck in hospitals waiting for special care home beds," Coon said.
"While there are beds available in many special care homes, the cost, because they're not capped, can be unaffordable."
Coon also said he would restore the Primary Informal Caregiver Benefit, which was cut by the PC government in 2019 to fund a pay raise for home-care workers instead. Additionally, Coon said he would implement the dementia strategy that's been shelved by past PC and Liberal governments.
He pointed to a report called New Brunswick's Elders: Neglected and Forgotten, published by the Association francophone des aînés du Nouveau-Brunswick, which says many seniors receiving care are suffering from malnutrition, medical negligence and poor standards of care.
The Progressive Conservatives did not have any events or make and public promises on Friday.
Liberals promise to make women's health care affordable
Liberal Leader Susan Holt said at an announcement in Fredericton that she would make women's health care both accessible and affordable.
"Women living in New Brunswick deserve access to affordable and accessible health care that recognizes their needs," Holt said.
"Affordability is key, so we want to make sure that people can access health services that won't bankrupt their families or that are only available to people who have means."
Holt said her government would make contraception free by accessing federal funding, and fund round one of In Vitro fertilization for those that need it.
One in six families struggle with infertility, she said.
"So it's something that we hear often in quiet conversations. It's a hard thing to talk about, and is something my husband and I went through."
The Liberal campaign later clarified a list of which contraceptives a Holt government would make free. They include oral birth control pills, hormonal and copper IUDs, hormonal implants, hormonal vaginal rings, contraceptive injections and emergency contraceptives.
She also promised to expand midwifery services beyond Fredericton by adding two more locations, and to introduce at-home pap tests for cervical cancer screening.
"Cervical cancer rates in New Brunswick are not going down and it's the fourth most common cancer across the world," Holt said.
The cost estimate for these campaign promises is $4.94 million, Holt said.
Her announcement did not touch on abortion, although experts have called for increased access to those services in New Brunswick.
Advance polling begins Saturday
People may be used to advance polling days occurring on a Saturday and Monday but this year, because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the second day will be on Tuesday, Oct. 15.
Advance polling locations can be found on voter information cards or on the Elections New Brunswick website. The polling stations are open between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. on advance polling days.
After Tuesday, the next chance for people to vote at the polls will be election day, Oct. 21.
If voting on advance polling days or on election day doesn't work for some people, they can also cast a ballot at any returning office in the province, at any time during the campaign.
Returning offices also offer additional accessibility measures that polling stations don't, such as audio voting for people with visual impairments.
According to the Elections New Brunswick website, there is also an option to vote by mail, but that requires voters to apply in advance.
Nursing homes and special care homes will also have pre-arranged visits from Elections New Brunswick poll workers to help residents vote who are unable to go to polls.
Standings at dissolution: PCs 25, Liberals 16, Greens 3, Independent 1, vacant 4.
Where the leaders are today
Liberal Leader Susan Holt will be in Fredericton to cast her vote in advance polling.
Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs will be in Quispamsis to cast his vote in advance polling.
Green Leader David Coon will be campaigning in the Fredericton region.
For complete coverage, here is a link to CBC's New Brunswick Votes 2024 stories.
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