Thank you, Mr. Bromley. In my
comments yesterday, I
talked about how the
Premier’s statement made reference that there’s going to be a one-time $1.8 million investment for on-the-job Community Health Nurse Development training programs and expansion of the nurse practitioner program.
Now, both sound really good to me, but I was having trouble reconciling the two, from the Premier’s statement, to the fact that the department is eliminating the full-time leave program for nurse practitioner education, as well as reducing the number of seats in the Community Health Nurse Development Program. So the two don’t seem to be consistent with the Premier’s statement.
First, about the nurse practitioner program. I applaud the department’s commitment to the nurse practitioners. Clearly, there’s a significant amount of value to integrating nurse practitioners into the system. But by cutting the NP education leave program — and the fact that Aurora College no longer delivers the nurse practitioner program, due to low enrolment — how does the department intend to live up to its commitment, in light of these reductions, to train and prepare nurse practitioners for the delivery of NP services in the Northwest Territories, with a primary focus on maximizing northern employment?