Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Picco on October the fourth, 1996, in respect to the registration process in the nursing profession in the NWT. The nursing profession in the Northwest Territories is a self-governing profession.
The registration process is done by the Northwest Territories Registered Nurses Association's Registration Committee. The Committee meets every three weeks to review applications. The NWTRNA at their biannual general meeting this summer revised the bylaws related to the registration committee to appoint more members to the Committee.
These changes have improved the review process. The expectation is that it should be easier to obtain a quorum to consider applications. Delays in registration are often due to missing documentation that needs to be provided by the applicant.
Registration cannot be taken lightly, as the primary purpose is to ensure protection of the public; therefore, documentation must be complete. The operations process has been improved by notifying applicants of what documentation is missing from the applicant's file.
A survey of the turnaround time of other Canadian licensing jurisdictions conducted by the NWTRNA shows that the time it takes for registration in the NWT is reasonable. In the 1996 year, 789 registrations were completed by the registration committee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.