Thank you, Mr. Speaker. WHEREAS health care workers provide an essential service to the residents of the Northwest Territories;
AND WHEREAS recruitment and retention of health care workers in the competitive Canadian labour market continues to be a challenge;
AND WHEREAS differences in pay scales, benefits and working conditions between permanent full-time workers and temporary contract workers who often work side by side have contributed to low morale, turnover and burnout amongst permanent workers;
AND WHEREAS lack of a consistent health care staff in many small communities prevents patients and workers from having the time to develop trust in relationships needed to ensure quality of care;
AND WHEREAS Northwest Territories residents expect and deserve a high quality of health care, as do other Canadians;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that this Legislative Assembly strongly recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories re-examine the pay, benefits and working conditions of its full-time health care professionals to ensure they are treated equitably as compared with temporary contract workers, and to ensure that full-time status is seen from the workers' point of view as the preferred alternative to temporary contract work;
AND FURTHER, that the Government of the Northwest Territories continue to focus efforts on developing an NWT-based pool of locum health care professionals.