Nova Scotia weighs risks of online gambling as other provinces expand access

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Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
Date: 2026-10-30 20:11:56.0
Tags: [Nova Scotia, Healthcare, Public Safety, Governance]

The Nova Scotia government, through Finance Minister John Lohr, is evaluating whether to expand government-regulated online gambling after seeing Ontario and Alberta open up their markets in 2022 and July respectively, currently relying solely on the Atlantic Lottery Corporation for authorized platforms. Opposition leaders, including NDP Leader Claudia Chender and Interim Liberal Leader Iain Rankin, have cautioned that the province must proceed very carefully and conduct public health risk assessments first. This comes as studies from institutions like the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health highlight significant concerns regarding online gambling harms, noting that Ontario emergency department visits for gambling disorders doubled following expansion and high school youth participation rates rose from one per cent in 2019 to nine per cent.

Pharmacy treatments for Lyme disease cut N.S. emergency visits in half: study

Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
Date: 2026-09-21 21:34:59.0
Tags: [Nova Scotia, Healthcare, Emergency]

A study published in the Canadian Pharmacies Journal by researchers at Dalhousie University found that giving Nova Scotia pharmacists the authority in August 2021 to assess and provide preventative Lyme disease treatment cut emergency department tick-bite visits in half relative to overall emergency volumes. Comparing 16-month periods before and after implementation, emergency visits dropped from 617 to 402. A separate 2024 study noted that pharmacists accounted for 61.3 per cent of all single-dose doxycycline prescriptions, with community pharmacists assessing over 8,000 tick bites in the quarter from April to June.

Halifax woman facing years-long wait for gynecologist calls for better access to health care

Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
Date: 2026-09-16 21:12:42.0
Tags: [Nova Scotia, Healthcare]

A 36-year-old Halifax resident diagnosed with fibroids, cysts, and adenomyosis was informed she faces a four- to five-year wait to see a gynecologist, prompting public criticism and legislative pressure regarding provincial healthcare access. In response to opposition questioning and a march organized by the group Women's Access to Care & Health (WATCH), Nova Scotia Health highlighted ongoing recruitment efforts, including 13 full-time equivalent positions for gynecological services and the expansion of the Endometriosis and Chronic Pelvic Pain Clinic. Additionally, the Nova Scotia Department of Health announced upcoming initiatives, including the scheduled winter opening of the Menopause Centre of Excellence in Spryfield and efforts to reduce breast cancer screening wait times.

Patients face challenges when seeking medical care not offered in Nova Scotia: audit

Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
Date: 2026-09-15 16:19:33.0
Tags: [Nova Scotia, Healthcare, Governance]

Nova Scotia Auditor General Kim Adair released a report detailing systemic challenges and inefficiencies within the province's out-of-province and out-of-country medical claims program. The audit found that administrative duplication between the Nova Scotia Health Department and program administrators slowed response times for patients seeking necessary specialized treatments not offered locally, such as care for eye cancer, lymphedema, gender dysphoria, and lung transplants. The review also revealed that program information was not readily accessible to the public or physicians. Health Minister Michelle Thompson accepted the report's eight recommendations and indicated they will be implemented over the coming year.

Nova Scotia aims to reduce mammogram wait times, enhance women’s health care

Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
Date: 2026-09-14 20:54:44.0
Tags: [Nova Scotia, Healthcare]

The Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness has unveiled a series of initiatives aimed at enhancing women's healthcare and reducing mammogram wait times that currently exceed one year. Health Minister Michelle Thompson announced that a formal review has begun to overhaul booking, waitlist management, scheduling, equipment standardization, and workforce opportunities to boost mammogram appointments. Additionally, the province is establishing a new Menopause Centre of Excellence in the Spryfield neighbourhood of Halifax scheduled to open this winter, staffing it with a gynecologist, pelvic floor physiotherapist, registered nurse, and general practitioner. Furthermore, the province is creating a dedicated women’s health program within the Department of Health and Wellness, a provincial Women’s Health Clinical Collaborative, and hosting a women’s health summit this fall.

N.S. premier invites the public to build and submit their own provincial budgets

Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
Date: 2026-09-11 17:17:45.0
Tags: [Nova Scotia, Finance, Governance, Healthcare]

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston and Public Service Commission Minister Twila Grosse launched a new public budget consultation process allowing Nova Scotians to build and submit their own provincial budget versions via a dedicated website. The interactive tool prohibits users from raising taxes and fees, increasing the deficit, or cutting funding from the Health and Wellness Department, but permits a five per cent increase or decrease to all other departmental budgets and individual program funding. Provincial officials will host online and in-person public meetings across Nova Scotia, after which an independent committee will review submissions and present a report to the finance minister for consideration in the next fiscal plan.