Halifax – The president of CUPE Nova Scotia, Mike McNeil, says his union agrees with a number of groups who are calling for health minister Leo Glavine’s resignation over changes to seniors’ Pharmacare.

McNeil says, “We now have several groups representing seniors who say they were misled by the provincial government on changes to the plan, changes that will mean huge increases in premiums for seniors who rely on the Pharmacare program for their medications.

“We have a health minister who on March 27, 2015 stood in the legislature and stated categorically that there would be no increases to premiums while he was minister. Well then, I guess it’s time for him to step down as minister,” says McNeil.

McNeil says, “It’s hard enough for our province’s seniors to live on a fixed income when we know less than a third of those people have workplace pension plans or any kind of health benefits. Now it appears as though the health minister has targeted this same group to generate $10 million in additional revenue for his government.”

“We’re talking about fee increases of up to 200% in some cases. This is unconscionable behaviour from the provincial government,” says McNeil.