Premier Tim Houston responds to a question in the Nova Scotia legislature on October 19, 2022.

Healthcare was front and center in the legislature today.

Opposition Leader Zach Churchill says two years after the election, Nova Scotia’s healthcare situation continues to get worse.

Premier Tim Houston defended his government’s actions, saying they’ve planted the seeds for fixing the healthcare system.

“We are making progress and the way of gauging that is from the starting point that we inherited from the former minister of health. Based on that metric, we have made remarkable progress.”

Opposition leader Zach Churchill responded by saying the province inherited a need a doctor wait list at 70,000 that has now grown to over 116,000.

“When the wait list was at that level, the premier said that wasn’t bad luck, it was poor judgement and weak leadership. Now that we’ve had over 45,000 more people added to that wait list we have a very different tone coming from the government.”

He also pointed to overcapacity at hospitals, ER closures and strain on the paramedic system.

Houston says when he took office they were facing a lot of retirements and are now working to address the needs of healthcare workers.

He adds it will take time and money to fix the industry.