Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It sounds to me like this is an area where this initiative is benefiting, the retention part of recruitment and retention of health care professionals. I was talking about nurses in particular lately and I made this point in a Member's statement yesterday, I believe. The government's recruitment and retention strategy is inadequate. It may deal with a recruitment element of that strategy by way of bursary programs and other things that are indicated here. Other than the professional development aspect of it and making it possible for the health care professionals to take advantage of some programs that would enhance their skills or their expertise in a certain area, there is not a whole lot there to retain our health care professionals.

As I said in my Member's statement, this is not playing out very well. I know the Minister of Health is travelling, but I know that he will be advised of concerns that I am expressing here. That is that we have to do more to retain staff that we already have. What I am hearing is what's happening with the new recruits, especially nurses who are going into the system, is that they are replacing older and more experienced nurses. I have already stated that it's a good policy to recruit new nurses and to guarantee them a job, but I think the Minister has to be concerned if fresh graduates out of nursing programs are replacing the experienced nurses because then there is a lack of mentoring and training that is required and can only be provided by the experienced nurses.

I think the Minister has to be reminded again that all nurses are saying that there has to be an equitable mix between the experienced and inexperienced in any nursing environment so that proper treatment can be provided. I really think that the Minister has to look at what incentives he can provide to experienced nurses so that we do not lose them to southern markets or somewhere else. That is one thing, because we have to retain the nurses as well as recruit them and the Minister should really look at providing additional incentives for experienced nurses so that they will stay and that they are compensated for providing the mentorship and the training that the Minister is asking those nurses to take on.

The Minister and the government say they are going to guarantee jobs for new graduates. The Minister has to follow that up. He has the duty to follow that up with adequate compensation for those that he is expecting to train these new graduates.

I just want to reiterate... and that this is a really crucial element, and I realize that the Minister is addressing some aspects of this by reclassifying nurses... but I tell you, the information I am getting is that the experienced nurses have not seen a real increase in their pay and it is hardly comparable to what is being offered down south. Unless we fix that we are going to continue to lose experienced nurses and that would be a real loss to our health care system and a loss to the new graduates who need the mentorship and training by these experienced nurses.

I just want to reiterate that and ask the Minister of Finance to pass that message on to the Minister of Health and Social Services and I will be after the Minister of Health and Social Services to come back in June or in the interim to make sure that he addresses that gap. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.