Trans Group Calling For Further Changes to N.S. Health Care Policy

ARICHAT - While she describes recent updates to Nova Scotia's health policies regarding gender-affirming care as a "welcome change," the founder and head of the Cape Breton Transgender Network feels the province still has much to do in terms of assuring the transgender community that they receive the respect and dignity it needs within the province's struggling health-care sector. 

In a wide-ranging interview with TELILE 24/7 host Adam Cooke at the Telile Community Television studios in Arichat, Veronica Merryfield - who provided a quote used in the July 28 government announcement trumpeting the changes - suggested that many of the announced upgrades are "nuanced" and that the province's actions, while welcome, do not go nearly far enough. 

Merryfield noted that medical clinics in central and western Canada that offer surgical procedures and counselling frequently required by the trans community are out of reach for many in the Nova Scotia LGBTQIA+ community. She also pointed out that, while the province sets aside 1.8 per cent of its annual budget for the Department of Health and Wellness for an office of "Pride Health," this office has a single Halifax-based staffer that Merryfield described as "overworked," leaving many people living in rural communities without the gender-affirming health care they so frequently seek. 

Also on this week's edition of TELILE 24/7:

* 17:28 - The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has confirmed the spending of $4 million towards the construction of four DFO patrol vessels that are to be built by Petit de Grat-based Samson Enterprises. DFO Eastern Nova Scotia Area Manager Scott Phillips, Cape Breton-Canso MP Mike Kelloway and Samson Enterprises office manager Rachelle Samson confirmed this new contract at a ceremony held earlier this month at the Petit de Grat wharf facility. 

* 46:33 - Five months after assuming the chair's role with the Richmond County Literacy Network in order to keep the 30-year-old organization from collapsing, Paula Kavanaugh is pleased with the programs she and her colleagues have put together for the fall. The organization is also on the hunt for two new full-time staffers, including an executive director.