Nova Scotia won’t buy air conditioners for low-income people with health issues

A Nova Scotia woman on income assistance who succeeded in forcing the province to pay for her air conditioner says she’s sad other low-income people won’t get the same relief.

Last October Julie Leggett from New Glasgow, N.S., won an appeal to receive provincial funding for an air conditioner because of a chronic health condition.

But the decision by the income assistance appeal board didn’t force the province to cover the cost of air conditioners for other low-income people with health issues.

Leggett raised her concerns during the November provincial election campaign, arguing government policy should be changed to help people cope during heat waves.

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston, whose party won the election, had said on the campaign trail that he would look into adding air conditioners to a list of special needs covered by the social assistance program.

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But a spokesperson for the Department of Social Development said on Tuesday that the government was not planning on changing the policy.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.