By Rafah DiCostanzo, MLA
In the last legislative session, I was thrilled to see several ideas that I have advocated for included in this year’s provincial budget. As I have been saying, reducing income taxes and introducing a universal school lunch program will keep more money in the pockets of Nova Scotians, just like you. I’ll continue advocating for a cut to the HST to save you even more. Here are some of the great ideas I’ve been supporting that have been included in the 2024 budget: ending bracket creep, school lunch program, expanding cell coverage, and funding of continuous glucose monitors. Despite this, I am disappointed that the Coastal Protection Act has been scrapped, leaving it in the responsibility of our municipalities….
During this legislative session, I was also proud to introduce a piece of legislation titled, the Find it Early Act, that would see Nova Scotia providing additional screening and diagnostic imaging for women with dense breasts. Around half of Nova Scotian women have dense breasts, which means that they are at a higher risk for developing breast cancer and for potential cancer being missed by a mammogram alone. This is why Nova Scotia needs to be providing more comprehensive screening and imaging just like Ontario, which offers abbreviated MRIs, and British Columbia, which offers contrast enhanced mammography, both of which will find four times more cancers than mammograms alone. While I’m disappointed that this legislation did not pass in this session, I’ll continue to spread awareness around the additional risks there are for women with dense breasts, as I want to prevent other women in our province who are being denied extra screening and imaging.
Lastly, my office’s community cleanups of Clayton Park West will be returning this spring for its sixteenth and seventeenth editions. I am very pleased to see so much enthusiasm and community involvement around these cleanups over the years, and I am pleased that the number of volunteers keep growing. The first cleanup of the spring season will be taking place on Saturday, May 18th, with the second one on Saturday, June 15th. These cleanups will be from 10 am to 12 pm both days — we’ll be meeting in the parking lot of Saint Benedict Parish (45 Radcliff e Dr), and, as always, water and supplies will be provided. Please reach out to my office if you would like to join us and be sure to check my social media for updates. I always look forward to meeting with constituents, whether it’s at my regular coffee and conversation meetings, at community cleanups, and everything in between and outside. My office doors are always open for you, so please reach out to my office anytime to make an appointment with us!
Contact Information
397 Bedford Hwy, Suite 201
Contact Number:902-443-8318
Email: Rafah@rafahdicostanzo.com
X(Twitter):@RafahDiCostanzo
Facebook: @RafahDiCostanzoNS
