Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, Mr. Speaker, we are all operating under the same mandate so I'm well aware that this initially was set up in order to achieve the mandate item of having additional health care workers recruited. And interestingly, there actually had been some positive successes in that regard notwithstanding the discussions around what is happening with the obstetrics unit.

The vacancy rate for the health recruitment positions actually decreased 1.5 percent, an additional 14 positions, but they are not, of course, being filled necessarily in all the same places at all the same rates.

So on one side, I could say that was a success. At the same time, Mr. Speaker, we are all very alive to what's happening at Stanton. I also have quite a number of constituents we are there. We are all alive to what's happening.

So what do we do to measure this going forward, Mr. Speaker? Obviously, there has to be a continued effort between the Department of Health and between the Department of Finance to make sure that we measure the success across all the departments that are existing in the Health and Social Services field. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I will acknowledge that the Department of Health was waiting Alberta's doors when Alberta started laying off nurses and that is appreciated.

My second question is what are the recruitment and retention initiatives that the Department of Finance has implemented in the recruitment of new nurses. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the things that's even more powerful than a great photo and a great newspaper or a magazine is the words of mouth of somebody that you trust. And acknowledging this, in 1999 the Government of the Northwest Territories and the UNW implemented a temporary market supplement for nurses to recruit NWT nurses.

As a result, the public service was able to recruit 65 full-time nurses in spite of a national nursing shortage. So will the Minister of Finance provide a ministerial directive to provide a temporary market supplement for nurses. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I couldn't agree more with word of mouth. And right now, we're the second highest paid jurisdiction for nurses in all of Canada. So I do hope that message gets out.

I do realize that other jurisdictions are starting to increase and make available some sorts of signing bonuses or increase in a temporary market measure. And I'm aware of that because we are looking at what options we have both in the Department of Finance and the Department of Health, long before this week had already begun to say what can we do? We know that the health care profession needs more people.

The fact of morale in the public service generally, and in the health care sector specifically, have been certainly front of mind for me now throughout COVID but particularly in the last few months. I have also heard increasing comments about it.

As far as a directive to say that there's going to be a temporary market supplement, Mr. Speaker, that is not something I can do without going back to the union, without discussing that with the union and ensuring that what we do remains on side with the collective agreement, remains on side with our bargaining. And we can certainly do that. So I can certainly commit to having that conversation. I am sure they also want their Members to feel protected and safe. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for that. I've not heard of a single union that's negotiated for less money for any of their membership so I'm sure the union would welcome that conversation. I'm wondering if the Minister knows when that conversation might occur. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, it's so much easier to just stand up and say 'yes'. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, I don't know. Again, I do want to assure not only the Member and the other Members of this House but the public that I know are often listening.

The Minister of Health and I had already started this conversation before what started happening this week in obstetrics. We had already started to look at what can we do. We know that health workers and frontline workers were particularly affected by the lockdown this fall. We know that they were particularly affected by the fact of the outbreaks, and we were looking at what options we had, financially and otherwise. And sometimes it takes a bit of time for an idea to actually be fleshed out to be something that can be implemented, and it certainly takes more time to go through the processes necessary to attach money to it.

So I wish it could have all happened yesterday. It didn't, but the conversations are being had and things are being worked on. I was listening carefully when I heard someone say they had solutions because we certainly want to find them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.