PCs promise free shingles vaccine, Liberals commit to Halifax bridge and NDP focus on renter rights

Nova Scotia's Progressive Conservatives promised on Tuesday to introduce a universal shingles vaccine program for people 65 and older if re-elected Nov. 26, the latest in a series of targeted health announcements.

Party leader Tim Houston said the program would cost $27 million the first year before dropping below $3 million by the third year as the focus shifts to people reaching the age of 65. Houston said the shingles vaccine should be free because statistics show one in three people will develop the painful skin rash, the risk of which increases as people age.

"We have the tools to fight shingles with a vaccine that can reduce or eliminate the symptoms of this disease, but too many of our seniors don't get the vaccine because of the cost," he said, which he estimated at about $100.

"I hear from seniors all the time saying it [vaccine costs] puts them under pressure in other parts of their finances," he said.

The announcement followed earlier health-care promises by the Tories, such as introducing a travel nurse team to address staffing shortages in the network, including in emergency departments, and creating a centre of excellence to treat the symptoms of menopause.

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill, meanwhile, promised on Tuesday to build a new six-lane bridge across Halifax harbour to help relieve traffic congestion in Atlantic Canada's largest city. He said his plan would replace the MacKay Bridge with a larger span that would have dedicated bike and bus lanes.

He was also critical of a Tory promise to remove the tolls on the city's two harbour bridges.

"That's the opposite of what we need right now," he said. "Experts are saying this move will actually increase traffic congestion by 10 to 20 per cent. Those tolls generate revenue that we can't afford to lose right now."

Churchill repeated his party's promise, announced in September, to make public transit free across the province and expand municipal transit services. He said a Liberal government would also promote flexible work arrangements to reduce the number of vehicles on the road.

The Liberal leader was joined by Thomas Trappenberg, the former Nova Scotia Green Party leader, who is now running for Churchill's party in the Halifax-area riding of Sackville-Uniacke. Trappenberg, who served as the Green leader from 2016 to 2021, said it was Churchill's free public transit promise that initially attracted him to the party.

"This really resonated with me because I actually campaigned on this many years ago," he said. "I still have Green values, but I think the Liberal party is much more organized and is able to implement things."

Housing remained the focus of the NDP on Tuesday, as leader Claudia Chender promised to create a compliance and enforcement unit for resolving tenant-landlord disputes.

"Right now the vacancy rate in Nova Scotia is at one per cent," Chender said in a statement. "If a landlord isn't maintaining their property, renters don't feel like they have any options. The disparity in power is often huge; the current system isn't balanced or fair."

Chender said the unit is needed because the province doesn't have the necessary resources to manage disputes.