Kevin A. Menicoche

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services and I’d like to continue my barrage of questions. It was on the northern grad nurses and the Graduate Placement Program. She has indicated in Hansard something that really upset the students and I’d like to ask the Minister if she’s willing to apologize to the grads publicly in this forum and explain what she had meant by that. Thank you.

Thank you. The media clips that come out of this House are taken with seriousness by all our constituents and people throughout the North because what’s said in this House is reflected sometimes in policy and in how we administer our government. So just given that, Mr. Speaker, if anything, given the seriousness that my constituents have taken with it, the chief of the community has taken it very seriously as well, and I think, if anything, if there was an error in her statement and she offended people, I think the Minister owes an apology. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I wish to speak about the issue of the northern grad nurses and the Minister’s lead statement from last week.

Nahendeh has produced many nursing professionals over the course of time, and I’m very proud of each and every one of them. Last week, Mr. Speaker, my constituent who is from a small community in my riding and is graduating this year from the Bachelor of Science in the Nursing Program was very dismayed by the Minister of Health and Social Services’ remark last week who implied that they need more training in different situations before they can practice...

I was just trying to get some clarity in how the department determines who lives in the household. Is it 20 days out of the month or is it 15 days out of the month? Because I know in this case it was, like, two or three days out of the month, and it’s not every month either there, Mr. Chair. What drives their policy or who makes those decisions and how do they determine it? Thank you.

So does that mean she’ll get her fuel in May, when February is the coldest month? I’m not too clear about that. I’m just wondering, the documents as they’re in the works, is there an alternative in the meantime? Can she file a statutory declaration that she did not work in 2010? There must be another way around this.

It’s absolutely important and imperative that the facilities are there to everyone to improve the sustainability, the workforce background and basic adult literacy is fundamental to this in the smaller communities. If we don’t have the facilities there, how exactly are we going to do that? Right now I think the only option is... I don’t know how often they do it, but someone does have to come in from Fort Simpson and/or a larger centre and scrounge around for equipment. I think the better strategy is, and I would certainly urge, that Wrigley get on the high priority list for identifying...

I think that’s an outstanding offer by the Minister and I just do want to add when she had first met with the grads about two or three years ago, they were really pleased about the support that the Minister and the Department of Health and Social Services had for the grads. Once again, I’d like to get the Minister’s commitment that she will make the offer and will go over and meet with the graduate students this year. Thank you very much.

When we say things in the House it is recorded in Hansard. That’s exactly the words I have in front of me, which says, “They need more training before they can be put into practice settings. They wouldn’t be, I don’t think, ready to apply for a job that’s available on the website.” That’s the kind of thing that really shocks them and I think it’s outrageous. The chief of my community thinks it’s outrageous that the Minister would say something like that. Once again, if anything, I know that the Minister is taking great lengths, between her and her department, to meet with the graduating nurses...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to follow up on my Member’s statement on northern grad nurses. I mentioned that I received a copy of the letter to Ms. Lee from one of my constituents who was really dismayed and took offense to the remark in the House by Ms. Lee. I just wanted to get some clarification, questions. Is there an actual policy or directive of government that graduated nurses that have designated RNs must take some additional training to be employed in our system, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just with the regional area offices positions, I know that legislatively the Minister did have to increase some positions, but I don’t know if I heard an adequate response why the positions went down in the regions though.