The nursing home wait-list crisis hitting some of New Brunswick's biggest hospitals this summer may be setting new records, but it should not come as a surprise.

Governments have known for decades the province's population was aging, and they would have to cope with an ever-growing number of seniors needing care.

"We're well behind the eight ball and we're trying to play catch up," Premier Susan Holt acknowledged at a recent news conference.

As early as 1991, a report warned that the province had …