Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we spend in the neighbourhood of $1 million a year on agency nurses. We do have plans to mitigate that. We have invested millions of dollars in the Northern Nursing Program at the Aurora College. We have been in a state of transition for the last 18 months. This coming spring, we anticipate, are planning, and are very glad to see about 24 nurse graduates that are going to be graduating with their four-year degree and nursing certification that we are going to be making job offers to. As well, we are looking seriously at ways to set up permanent float pools in Yellowknife, the Inuvik region and possibly the Sahtu where we would have nurses whose job it is to go and cover off and rotate through with the employees of the various authorities, but that would be in the North where we wouldn't have to pay that very dear fee that we feed to the agencies right now. Thank you.
Michael Miltenberger on Question 338-15(4): Recruitment, Hiring And Retention Of Nurses
In the Legislative Assembly on February 6th, 2006. See this statement in context.
Further Return To Question 338-15(4): Recruitment, Hiring And Retention Of Nurses
Question 338-15(4): Recruitment, Hiring And Retention Of Nurses
Item 6: Oral Questions
February 5th, 2006
Page 749
See context to find out what was said next.