BILL NO. 87
(as introduced)
1st Session, 65th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
3 Charles III, 2025
Private Member's Public Bill
Right to Primary Care Act
Rod Wilson
Halifax Armdale
First Reading: March 18, 2025
Second Reading:
Third Reading:
An Act to Give Nova Scotians
the Right to Primary Care
Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 This Act may be cited as the Right to Primary Care Act.
"Minister" means the Minister of Health and Wellness;
"Need a Family Practice Registry" means the Need a Family Practice Registry maintained by the Nova Scotia Health Authority;
"primary care" means the first level of an individual's care in the healthcare system.
3 Every resident of the Province has the right to primary care in the region of the Province in which that person resides.
4 The Minister shall work to systematically attach Nova Scotians to primary care with the goal of reaching and maintaining universal attachment.
5 The Minister shall ensure that primary care delivered in the Province is
(a) provided by a healthcare professional or a team of healthcare professionals on an ongoing basis;
(b) comprehensive in nature, covering a diverse range or promotive, protective, preventative, curative, rehabilitative and palliative services;
(c) coordinated across different levels of the healthcare system; and
(d) people-centred, giving individuals the education and support needed to make decisions and participate in their own care.
6 (1) On a monthly basis, the Minister shall prepare a progress report respecting the Need a Family Practice Registry.
(2) Reports prepared under subsection (1) must include
(a) the current number of individuals listed on the Need a Family Practice Registry as needing a family practice;
(b) aggregate information on which health zone and community in the Province individuals listed on the Registry reside;
(c) the number of individuals added to or removed from the Registry from the previous month broken down by which health zone and community in the Province the individuals reside; and
(d) the reason why individuals are removed from the Registry, including whether due to relocation, death or being connected with a primary care provider.
(3) The Minister shall cause the reports prepared under subsection (1) to be posted on an online database accessible to the public.
This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2025 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created March 18, 2025. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.
