Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this problem is not unique to the Northwest Territories. It is a national problem. As the nurses' association have brought up to me and confirmed at a meeting prior to Christmas, there are a lot of international demands, particularly from the United States on the nursing profession in Canada and they are offering some very lucrative packages to recruit nurses to the United States. Couple that with the fact that a lot of the Canadian jurisdictions have gone to nurse practitioner models in a lot of their community health centres, the demand for those types of individuals is very high and it is not something that could have been resolved overnight. We have to look at it from a longer term perspective, of trying to develop, first of all, a northern workforce if at all possible. I know that is not an overnight solution, but it is a long-term solution that is sustainable for us. That is where we have been trying to focus some of our efforts, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Kelvin Ng on Question 218-13(5): Health Board Staffing Problems
In the Legislative Assembly on February 5th, 1998. See this statement in context.
Further Return To Question 218-13(5): Health Board Staffing Problems
Question 218-13(5): Health Board Staffing Problems
Item 6: Oral Questions
February 4th, 1998
Page 583
Kelvin Ng Kitikmeot
See context to find out what was said next.