Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to address a very important issue that has to do with northern nurses. We are all aware, and have heard very clearly from the Department of Health and Social Services, that there is a critical shortage of nurses in the Northwest Territories. It is especially acute when you come to northern nurses.
We have heard that affirmative action is not working that well. That after 12 or 14 years, affirmative action has not met its targets. It does not do the job it is intended to do. It has not addressed the key areas of the professions. We have heard that the government is giving millions of dollars through its recruitment and retention plan last year, and they request more money this year to recruit nurses from the south and to retain the ones we have in the North.
They have sent groups to the British Isles trying to find nurses. The have admitted they have come up with a short-term strategy, but in the long-term, we have to have northern nurses.
Mr. Speaker, I am very concerned. I have a constituent, a nurse with a diploma, a Metis nurse in Fort Smith, who has applied to go to school to get her degree. We have been told that all nurses are going to soon require a bachelor of science to practice nursing.
Mr. Speaker, this nurse was rejected. I am shocked and appalled that this department, which has voiced such concern and is spending millions of dollars trying to recruit nurses, will not spend the money to train and retain a northern nurse, especially since they lapsed over $800,000 in their recruitment and retention plan last year.
The reason this lady was given was that there were insufficient funds to allow her to upgrade to the degree level so she would be able to provide a better quality of service as a nurse.
Mr. Speaker, I would hope the Minister will do the right thing. She has the flexibility to move funding to make the right decision to not only recruit, but to retain the nurses we have. We have a classic example of a northern nurse seeking to upgrade her skills so she will be better able to provide service to her patients. Later today, Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the Minister questions about this issue. I hope she would like to tell me that with this $800,000 they lapsed and the $3.4 million they will get this year, they will find a way to make sure we train northern nurses. Thank you.
-- Applause