Mr. Chairman, I look forward to what solutions and considerations will come out of that. I think it would be a step forward and certainly an empowerment.
Mr. Chairman, on this section here, the last area I think at this time or, sorry, the second last area was
student loans. Another colleague of mine, I believe Mr. Ramsay, has raised this issue before. I certainly agree with the issue. Under the student loans program, has the department ever contemplated building into a program that helps buy student loans back? What I mean by that is, if we are struggling in a particular area of staff, obviously in cooperation with the Department of Human Resources, has the department ever contemplated on buying student loans?
I know American hospitals and whatnot will scoop into Canada and go to these colleges and say, you’re a radiologist. We need them at the hospital. We will pay you twice as much as they pay you in Canada and we will buy your student loan and we will buy the contract that whoever paid to send you here, we will buy you out of that contract.
I know there are a lot of areas as we have run into such as auditors. I have raised that particular spawn with the Department of Finance continually, that we have always understaffed in the Audit Bureau. I am just wondering if the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has ever thought about that type of strategy, building it in.
I can speak from personal experience where I actually had a cousin who graduated I believe with radiology. She was approached as well as she told me a number of people had been approached. Now they have sought employment in their home towns and their communities in Canada. When we have particular areas to fill that we just cannot fill whether you are a nurse in a community… I mean, can you imagine being a southern student and say, look, if you go to Tsiigehtchic for three years, we will buy your student loan out? We need a teacher in Sachs Harbour. It is difficult to get one. We will buy your student loan out and transplant you there for a couple of years and we will get you a job right away. It is that type of philosophy where we have certain positions and I am sure it is easy to identify them where it is a difficult challenge to staff people and a difficult challenge to attract people. It is that philosophy that I am suggesting. Does the department have an element to start building in that sort of thinking and flexibility to maybe develop in that direction? Thank you.