Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about the recruitment and retention plan the Minister of Health and Social Services had mentioned earlier. Mr. Speaker, last week I asked questions regarding this recruitment and retention plan. As the Minister had indicated, this plan is to address the immediate difficulties in recruitment of social workers, nurses and physicians as well as to develop people and organizations needed to move our services into the next century.
Mr. Speaker, I commend the department for undertaking this initiative and working with its partners. I know that we must respect the independence of our health boards, however, we cannot afford inconsistent interpretation and perhaps, haphazard implementation of the planning that has gone into this report. Therefore, I would urge the Minister and the department to bring the board chairs and the chief executive officers into a central location to review and discuss the report.
Mr. Speaker, the department must also be prepared to travel to board meetings to hold workshops and discuss the report. This would help identify things that can be implemented territorially. It might help to identify cost savings and common concerns.
Mr. Speaker, I reiterate that we must allow the boards to maintain their independence, however, this government must assure our residents that they can have consistent health care across the territories. Getting the board chairs and the chief executive officers to a central location to go over the recruitment and retention plan would help assist us to achieve this consistency. Thank you.