Sandy Lee

Mr. Chairman, I think that is something that we are and we need to work on over the next month or two as we work toward the next business plan. As the stats have shown in the House, we have over the next three years 60 to 70 grads of nursing school coming out of Aurora College. We have other human resource needs. We have two long-term career centres being built, for example, and both, especially Sahtu, has shown their interest in training their local staff to work at the long-term care facilities. It is something we need to look at. We want to expand home care services and we need to look at...

The Member knows we’ve had lots of success in training and supporting our northern workforce in the health and social services system. The Member was part of that when he worked in the system. We’ve had lots of success. I don’t think anybody here is questioning the need and achievements in that area.

I’d be happy to provide him with more information. As the Member knows, the CHN program is administered by HR, so I’d be happy to work with the HR Minister and get back to the Member on the detailed information. I believe this has been brought up and we have given the Member information on that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to welcome and recognize a Grade 6 Intense French class from Range Lake North School, who are here to watch consensus government in action. I’d like to recognize, with the indulgence of the House, each one of them: Viktor Hugo Antolin Gutierrez, Julienne Apaga, Carson Asmundson, Taylor Beck, Erika Callahan, Emma Cameron, Advent Joshua Cruz, Brady Daniels, Sarah DuPlessis, Tori Forsbloom, Hannah Fowler, Hayley Gibson, Daniel Guardado, Michelle Lee -- who is also my niece, Jasmine Li, Tatianna Lim, Iain MacKay, Melissa MacLellan, Angus Martin, Taltson McQueen...

With all due respect, he is completely misinterpreting what I said about the website. Mr. Chairman, my answer was the grads coming out of Aurora College don’t need to go and respond to ads for nursing positions because we have a program that we are working with them, which is the Northern Graduate Employment Program. That has been set up for HR and so we have a separate path to facilitate them because we do want to work with them and we want to recruit and retain them. The question was why aren’t the jobs on the website so that they can apply, and my answer was they don’t necessarily have to...

Mr. Chairman, we need to look at that. I have committed to look at that. It will take a different way of thinking to be able to re-profile enough money to do it territorial-wide. It is really about closing the gap in the spectrum of services available. We have residential programming. We send people away. We have staff that work in the communities. But I take the Member’s point that we don’t have enough options for communities to tap into to do on-the-land healing programs. We do fund them, but it’s on an ad hoc basis and a project-by-project basis and whether we could get some money from the...

Mr. Chairman, yes, there is a need and there is room for more nurse practitioners. We have vacant positions in some communities for NPs. We don’t have a vacancy in Yellowknife, but in regions and in communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We’re speaking about this year’s budget. We’re involved for ‘11 and ‘12. I can’t speak for future governments and future plans and that’s one more reason why we need to review this program. I mean, review the training needs and how Department of Health and Social Services system needs for trained people marry up with what we are doing in Aurora College in all of its branches and how HR works with us.

I think Members would agree we need to look at how we go forward. Thank you.

Thank you. We will get it to the Member. Thank you.

We believe it’s just a Collective Agreement increase. There is no enhancement in the programming. Thank you.

Yes, please, Mr. Chairman.