Last weekend I was able to spend some time in beautiful Cape Breton - meeting so many wonderful people and learning about the issues that matter most to them and their communities.

Each and every time I am there, it becomes clearer to me that we can absolutely do better for the people of Cape Breton. They deserve better. I wanted to share some of the highlights of my trip:

I met with a group of local physicians who had a range in experience with collaborative-style medical practices. I saw examples of the gold standard for collaborative practices which have actually enabled some family doctors to take on new patients. I also learned about less successful collaborative structures and what steps can be taken to change the outcomes for these practices so that ultimately, more people can have access to the health care they deserve.

I was very fortunate to have my friend and caucus colleague, Tim Halman, MLA for Dartmouth East join me on this trip. We held a town hall on education and had a huge turn out on a Sunday afternoon in Sydney (during the Vince Ryan hockey tournament I might add!) I have all kinds of ideas on how to improve our education system, and I am so fortunate to be able to draw on Tim Halman's practical experience as a former teacher to help inform these decisions. He was definitely the right person to bring to this town hall, talk about passionate! The great people who turned out were extremely engaged. I heard several stories from parents who struggled to get their children the assistance they need in school. I heard from teachers who were frustrated with the lack of help they receive in their classrooms. And I heard from administrators who are uncertain as to what the future holds. It certainly gave both Tim and I a lot to think about and take back to Halifax with us.

During this visit, I was also able to meet with a variety of people with backgrounds in economic development, the environment, entrepreneurship, and immigration, just to name a few. Everyone treated me with that warm Cape Breton hospitality and really opened up about the challenges they all face and provided incredible insight that is really helping to shape a lot of my policies. As I have been travelling across the province these last few months, it is incredible how many common themes there are in terms of the same challenges being faced in just about every community I visit.

While in Sydney, I had the opportunity to sit down with CBC's Information Morning host Steve Sutherland. Steve and I had a great discussion about my vision for the future of Nova Scotia. I look forward to more discussions with Steve as the campaign progresses.

The visit was capped off with a trip to the Cape Breton Post to talk everything from health care and education to the railway. Here's a link to the article:

http://www.capebretonpost.com/news/local/progressive-conservative-leadership-candidate-talks-to-the-post-about-issues-that-affect-cape-bretoners-196812/

I have been overwhelmed this past week with the response from Cape Bretoners who have really seemed to embrace some of our team's messages and direction for both Cape Breton and Nova Scotia. I look forward to returning in a few weeks to keep the momentum going!

Tim Houston

MLA for Pictou East, Candidate for the Leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia