{"id":7162,"date":"2025-11-06T21:13:31","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T00:13:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/11\/06\/ambitious-nova-scotia-plan-to-add-nursing-home-beds-eclipses-15-billion\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T21:13:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T00:13:31","slug":"ambitious-nova-scotia-plan-to-add-nursing-home-beds-eclipses-15-billion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/11\/06\/ambitious-nova-scotia-plan-to-add-nursing-home-beds-eclipses-15-billion\/","title":{"rendered":"Ambitious Nova Scotia plan to add nursing home beds eclipses $15 billion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"ambitious-nova-scotia-plan-to-add-nursing-home-beds-eclipses-$15-billion\"<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Ambitious Nova Scotia plan to add nursing home beds eclipses $15 billion<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Article content\u201cThis year, for long-term care facilities, it has increased to $15.6 billion,\u201d Bourgeois told the committee.Article content\u201cThe additional $7 billion covers 48 new facilities or new contracts, nine new service and development agreements, which would include some development construction costs as well, but all 25 years out. And then 39 of them are updated service and funding agreements for existing facilities.\u201dArticle content NDP MLA Lisa Lachance. \u2013 RYAN TAPLIN Photo by Ryan TaplinArticle contentCritics questioned why the province hasn\u2019t initiated competitive processes and follow the procurement act, especially now that costs have eclipsed $15 billion.Article content\u201cIn the auditor general report, there\u2019s a note that so many replacement beds weren\u2019t going through competitive procurement processes,\u201d NDP MLA Lisa Lachance said at the committee meeting. \u201cThese are large, 25-year contracts, an historical investment, and time and time again we really consider it important that government use competitive processes so that we know we\u2019re getting the best for Nova Scotians.Article contentArticle content\u201cGovernments have limited money, we\u2019re in a debt crisis in this province and we need to know that we\u2019re doing the absolute best.\u201dArticle contentThe seniors and long-term care deputy minister said the province will seek \u201cpotential approaches going forward that could include public tendering of replacement builds.\u201dArticle content\u201cWe\u2019re looking at the options; that work is not complete yet. It\u2019s very much underway, and when we have more information, we\u2019ll share it,\u201d Lora MacEachern told the committee.Article content Lora MacEachern, deputy minister with the Department of Seniors and Long-Term Care. \u2013 RYAN TAPLIN Photo by Ryan TaplinArticle content\u201cWe agree that ensuring value for money through competitive procurement is important. The procurement act has been and continues to be complied with. We do recognize the crux of the auditor general\u2019s recommendation . . . for us to look at the approach going forward as it relates to . . . a right-of-first-refusal for existing facilities. That\u2019s part of the work that\u2019s happening now. We\u2019re looking at the best approach for those circumstances going forward.\u201dArticle contentArticle contentLiberal MLA Iain Rankin questioned why the province didn\u2019t go to tender.Article content\u201cWe\u2019re talking about $15 billion of spending,\u201d Rankin said. \u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t you consider putting those things that you value to keep that proponent in place in a competitive tender, just to ensure that we\u2019re maximizing the value for money?\u201dArticle contentThe Department of Seniors and Long-term Care announced in 2021, soon after the Tim Houston Progressive Conservatives came into power, that 5,700 new and replacement nursing home beds would be completed by 2032.Article contentMacEachern told the committee that 1,000 new and replacement beds have been built, and 2,000 more are under construction.Article contentShe added that five of 54 new facilities are complete, and another 18 are currently being built.Article content Liberal MLA Iain Rankin. \u2013 RYAN TAPLIN Photo by Ryan Taplin \/THE CHRONICLE HERALDArticle content\u201cWe\u2019re quite confident 5,700 beds will be completed by 2032, as promised,\u201d MacEachern said.Article content\u201cIt\u2019s a big project. It\u2019s a historic investment in long-term care infrastructure, the largest in over a decade. We are really pleased with the progress we\u2019re making.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ambitious Nova Scotia plan to add nursing home beds eclipses $15 billion Article content\u201cThis year, for long-term care facilities, it has increased to $15.6 billion,\u201d Bourgeois told the committee.Article content\u201cThe additional $7 billion covers 48 new facilities or new contracts, nine new service and development agreements, which would include some development construction costs as well, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":7163,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,590,1],"tags":[116,589],"class_list":["post-7162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-indigenous","category-newfoundland-and-labrador","category-uncategorized","tag-indigenous","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}