Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure how many nurses have left the health care system to become agency nurses or to become term nurses because they want to go be closer to their family. There are different reasons for it, Mr. Speaker. Myself who worked as a -- alongside agency nurses at the beginning of my nursing career, there wasn't an option for me to pack up and go live some other territory because I was from here. So, you know, I think that's -- you know, when I hear the Member saying that it's more lucrative, well, you know, we have, you know, a different group of individuals that are coming out of nursing school and they're not settling down, wanting to live in this one certain area. Some of the nurses that I've -- like had spoken to throughout my career say they're fine with just travel because it gets them around the country and because it's the nature of the health care system right now. They're able to go and people are paying for them to fly around the country. They're seeing the world. They're taking off the time when they need to. Right now, the Northwest Territories is doing what they can do to work with the staff to try to promote. I think I've read off a list of things that we're doing that we can do. You know, our salaries are equivalent to the rest of Canada. There's -- and I'll -- I'll leave it there, Mr. Speaker.
Lesa Semmler on Question 65-20(1): Use of Private Agency Nursing in the Northwest Territories
In the Legislative Assembly on February 21st, 2024. See this statement in context.
Question 65-20(1): Use of Private Agency Nursing in the Northwest Territories
Oral Questions
February 21st, 2024
Page 151
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