Madam Speaker, as other provinces cap recruitment bonuses across the country to reel in new healthcare professionals, NWT healthcare staff waited for the same bait. As of September, the GNWT is now using the labour supplement policy to attract select healthcare professionals with bonuses of $5,000 to $7,000. This is one piece of the GNWT's push to recruit healthcare staff in the wake of a national shortage. But, Madam Speaker, I was surprised that the fall's announcement of recruitment plans for NTHSSA made no mention of one of the NWT's strongest healthcare success tools - the Aurora College's Bachelor of Science in nursing. So I have three suggestions to improve the NWT's recruitment strategy.

First, the GNWT applies a large budget to healthcare worker recruitment efforts with no guaranteed rate of return on our investment while at the same time students in southern Canada are looking for financial support to pursue post-secondary education.

Madam Speaker, the GNWT has a beautiful opportunity to invest in education of new nurses in exchange for years of service equal to their years of education. This type of support, education and exchange for residency, is already in place under the Student Financial Assistance Program.

Madam Speaker, for four years, a student could potentially come to the NWT to study nursing, experience the North, settle in, and work with the incentive to stay and work in the territory for another four years after graduation. This is a minimum of eight years of residency of students, and potentially their families, in exchange for an education and service as a northern nurse. This is also a potential avenue to increase healthcare staff in small communities.

Second, Madam Speaker, the GNWT needs to commit to conditional employment contracts delivered in January to potential nursing graduates. Employment contracts offered in June mean our students have already been headhunted by southern jurisdictions.

And third, the GNWT currently employs public servants interested in a career change but are being denied education leave for nursing as it does not fulfill their home department's mandate. The GNWT needs an all-of-government approach to education leave for public servants who want to pursue nursing.

Madam Speaker, the GNWT is falling short to aggressively attain educated NWT nurses and missing the opportunity to not only attract new ones but grow our own. This is an opportunity to let the success of Aurora College's nursing program play a vital role in addressing our nursing shortage. I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services at the appropriate time. Thank you