05/06/2026
Today I met with women from across Nova Scotia to continue the work of building a Women’s Healthcare Strategy, with one clear goal: improving access to medical care for women.
What I heard today was heartbreaking, but sadly not surprising.
Nearly every woman at the table had her own story of being unable to access medical care when she needed it.
Women in Nova Scotia are waiting three to four years just to see a gynecologist.
Here in Cumberland, NS Health has recently cut operating room time available to gynecologists at Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre. Can you imagine cutting OR time for women’s healthcare when wait times are already this bad?
Why are we not using a central system to ensure women are offered appointments in areas where wait times are less, rather than keeping wait times high in Halifax and cutting OR time for women in rural Nova Scotia?
You truly cannot make this stuff up.
Women with uterine prolapse are waiting years for an appointment at the gynecology clinic and then waiting even longer for surgery. In some cases, that means more than five years before receiving the care they need.
Women with endometriosis are also struggling to access timely diagnosis and treatment.
Some women have even had to fundraise through GoFundMe to pay for care outside the country because the care they needed was not available here at home.
This is happening here in Canada.
And here is another example of how unequal the system is: pessaries, which are used by women for conditions like prolapse, are not covered by MSI, while pe**le implants are covered.
Women with cerebrospinal fluid leaks, often a side effect from an epidural or spinal procedure, are being refused care in Nova Scotia and then denied MSI coverage for out-of-province care.
Breast cancer diagnoses are often delayed due to wait times for mammograms or outdated equipment that does not detect breast cancer well in women with dense breasts (which includes 40-50% of all women).
How is that acceptable?
Women’s groups have written letters to the Minister of Health, Michelle Thompson, and received no response. I have written letters to the Minister on behalf of women and received no response.
Since when do government departments simply refuse to respond to women asking for information, answers, and help?
Is this from a lack of clear chain of command in the department, or a leadership decision straight from the Premier’s Office?
Women deserve to know why they are being ignored.
Recently, women’s health was the topic at Legislative Health Committee. There were seven witnesses. Six were women. One was a man. After the committee, much of the media attention focused on interviewing the man about women’s health.
Some media outlets that normally report on Health Committee did not report on this topic at all.
Again, you cannot make this up.
The federal government recently announced a men’s health strategy. But no women’s health strategy.
Women, it is time to speak up.
And men, we need you with us too. These are your mothers, your wives, your sisters, your daughters, your friends, and your colleagues.
Things will not change as long as government continues to ignore the needs of women meanwhile telling Nova Scotians how wonderful healthcare is by their propaganda PR machine (that is paid by your tax dollars by the way).
Every single day, I hear from women and men from Cumberland North and across Nova Scotia who are asking for help. Many say their own government MLA will not respond to them.
Since when is it acceptable to ignore people asking for help, including widows, grieving parents, and families who have lost loved ones?
We also know there are inequities within the healthcare system itself. Women physicians are often paid less than their male counterparts, and procedures performed on women have historically been undervalued compared to procedures performed on men. Across Canada, surgical specialists treating women are reimbursed at a lower rate than surgical specialists treating men, for similar procedures. This reflects double discrimination both against the care providers who manage the care of female patients and against female patients themselves.
Until there is a level playing field - until women have timely, safe, and respectful access to healthcare - we must keep speaking up.
Too many women are suffering.
Too many women are waiting.
Too many women are being ignored.
And too many women are dying prematurely because they cannot access the medical care they need.
This has to change.
If you would like to join this group of women named WATCH - Women’s Access to Care & Health - women working to improve access to healthcare in Nova Scotia, please reach out to me with your name and email address. I will add you to our email list and let you know when we are meeting next.
Women’s health is not optional.
