MS. SEMMLER; Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Nurses are the course of the NWT health care system. Without nurse, we would have no one in the communities, no one to care for our patients in our hospitals, no one to provide nursing care for our elders, no one to assist our new mothers, no one to provide health education to our youth in many communities, as well as many other things that they do. Nurses are essential. Our health care system absolutely could not function without them. What does it mean -- this mean, Mr. Speaker? It means that there -- when there is a pandemic, the entire territory is ordered to stay home; nurses have to continue on like nothing has changed. It means that if working in a hospital and they wish to request time off from work, it gets denied due to operational requirements if there's no one to cover for them. This happens on normal times and not just in pandemics. It is unfortunate that given how much nurses do, they are not treated the same. It was recently raised that indeterminate nurses are tired of being treated differently than short-term locum nurses. It causes a weaker morale in the workplace, as mentioned in the same article. Yes, there is a nursing shortage in the country, and, yes, it's hard to attract people to the North due to the cost of living. Many may not know that term nurses do receive the northern living allowance as it's added to their hourly wage. They also get their flights and their subsidized rent. Indeterminate staff don't. Some say well, they get a pension plan. Well, in my experience as a past manager, that wasn't on the top of the list for many. The world is changing, Mr. Speaker, and our younger generations don't think like the past - to work, work, work, get that pension and retire. It's more about work-life balance. Work, work, work for the things you want to do, and enjoy life.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister stated in a news article on May 25th, 2021, that the health authority is meeting with the UNW to investigate those concerns. The nurses are not going to complain to the hand that feeds them, and the health authority needs to send out independent persons to hear from them so that they can voice their concerns without feeling like they may get retribution for saying the truth. This government is committed to increasing the number of resident indeterminate health care professionals. I know that many will speak up in confidence given the opportunity to do so, to-- the real issues are brought-- so the real issues are brought forward, and only then will we be able to fix the issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.