Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to use my Member’s statement today to talk about staffing concerns of nurses which have been brought to my attention. Staffing has, and continues to be, an issue in our health care system. We have had numerous discussions about the cost, and the impact, and the reliance on agency nurses and what that impact is having on our existing staff and the overall health care budgets at Stanton and the other health authorities.

I have a very difficult time understanding why I have to stand here again today raising issues on behalf of staff. It is not just a short list of issues like the use of agency nurses, workplace harassment, unfair labour practices, discrimination, intimidation, pay level disparity and the mobility of nurses to work in other regions. The department and Stanton have been working on staffing issues for four years, the four years that I have been here. Mr. Speaker, in 2003, the Stanton Health Authority was tasked with developing their own recruitment and retention strategy within the context of system-wide recruitment and retention initiatives. In addition to the strategy, Stanton was to come up with a human resources staffing plan in 2003. Early in 2004, Stanton was to conduct a staffing analysis to determine appropriate staffing levels and to confirm the role and mandate of the employee services function and give it a higher profile.

Mr. Speaker, where is this plan today? Why are so many staff still feeling left out with nowhere to turn for help except to the union and to their MLA? It seems so bizarre that we have to spend so much time, effort and energy and, really, we have nothing to show for it.

Mr. Speaker, another study which was started late last year was to interview staff and to try to find out exactly what was happening at Stanton. Where is this staffing utilization review report? The last reason I have heard is that the consultants have not completed the sections related to Stanton and to the satisfaction of that hospital. Mr. Speaker, if I can be so bold, it sounds to me like the report doesn’t say what Stanton wants it to say, so the consultants are busy trying to rework that report.

As a government, we definitely need to get a grip on staffing issues in our health care system. We can’t afford to be flying nurses in from Honduras and Newfoundland and paying the high cost of agency nurses. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Speaker: MR. SPEAKER

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Ramsay.

David Ramsay

Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like I said, we can’t afford to keep flying nurses in from Honduras and Newfoundland and paying the high cost of agency nurses. What the government should be doing is looking at creative ways to try to get more nurses to live here. How about a targetted campaign to newly graduated nurses in southern Canada where we would sign them up to return a service agreement for four, five or six years and, in return, the Government of the Northwest Territories could look at paying off their student loans? They would come here and some of them would stay here, Mr. Speaker. They would raise their families here. I think it is creative ways like that the government should be looking at instead of flying nurses in from Honduras. Mahsi.

---Applause