SOUTHWESTERN NS – Save Our Rural Healthcare Provincial Day of Action rallies will be held in Shelburne, Yarmouth and Digby on Saturday Oct. 13.
These local rallies are part of a series of rallies being held in various communities across the province on Saturday to draw awareness to what many feel is a crisis in the public heath care system, and to urge the government to take action.
In Shelburne, residents are being asked to gather at the Community Centre on King Street at 12 noon for a group photo and card signing.
“We will not be marching, nor will we be speaking; rather we want to show the government that the people of Shelburne County are standing up to cuts in services at our local hospital,” reads a Facebook post about the event.
Last month hundreds of people did march in Shelburne to draw attention to concerns over health-care services here.
In Yarmouth, people are being asked to gather in Alma Square starting at 11 a.m. on Oct. 13. There will be several speakers who will talk about the issues.
In Digby, the Digby Area Health Coalition is encouraging “everyone from 1 to 101 to join the Provincial Day of Action for accessible healthcare,” according to a Facebook post. The rally starts at 11 a.m. at the Digby (Evangeline) Mall.
A ‘Walk the Block for Change’ media release from the coalition says, “We plan to meet at the Evangeline Mall parking lot, proceed to demonstrate our gratitude for health care workers in Digby and to demand better from this government.”
During the rally thanks will be expressed to Dr. Genna Bourget and Dr. Jennifer Chang. The two doctors have been practising in Digby, although they recently announced they are leaving the area in November.
For the rally people are encouraged to “bring music and merriment, homemade signs and your enthusiasm for change” as the rally walks the hospital block.
The Provincial Day of Action rallies are being organized by the Nova Scotia Health Coalition and the Rural Health Care Crisis Working Group. As of our press deadline, other rallies were slated to be held in Antigonish, Mahone Bay and Sydney.
