Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I'm wondering if NTHSSA will consider funding Aurora College nursing student tuition for southern students who want to study and work in the NWT as a means to attract new nursing students? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. This year, the health and social services system is offering a Health and Social Services bursary program which will provide bursary funding to Indigenous and northern students to help support them as they pursue a career in health and social services. We are targeting that group of students because we believe there is greater opportunity for retention.
It's just worth noting that the Aurora College currently has an intake in the nursing program of 30 seats a year. The majority of them are, in fact, from the NWT, or have lived here for some period of time before that. So what I take away from this is that we are set up to do exactly what the Member is asking. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. So Madam Speaker, I agree with the Minister 100 percent. There is much more retention for people raised in the North to stay and to work as nurses in the Northwest Territories. Given that there are 30 seats a year within Aurora College for nursing students, does the Minister know or are they currently lobbying Aurora College to increase the number of seats that are available to nursing students a year, and does Health and Social Services plan to expand the bursary program that they're currently offering to northern students to southern students as well, given that we are in such a national shortage of nurses? Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I don't have any information that the nursing program is oversubscribed and that people are being turned away. What I can say about the bursary program is it hasn't been offered before so we have no information on the uptake. So I think the idea is to, first of all, work with Indigenous and northern students and then expand given the results of the initial offering. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I'm wondering if Health and Social Services will commit to providing conditional employment contracts to potential nursing graduates in January before they are headhunted by other jurisdictions? In speaking with past graduates, they have noted that quite often in the month of June they are receiving casual contracts and are really having to put their faith in the GNWT to get around to providing indeterminate contracts to them. And so I'm wondering if we can bump this up to really make sure that we're not losing nurses to other jurisdictions. Thank you.
Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the Department of Finance staff, I'm told, will be meeting with the graduating class of licensed practical nurses next week to discuss the benefits of working with the GNWT. And in addition, NTHSSA and human resources staff will be meeting with the current college nursing students, set to graduate next year, on November 29th and will provide conditional job offers at that time. The trip from conditional offer to indeterminate position involves making sure that all the requirements of the position are filled, such as graduate certification, successful completion of national certification, and achieving the registration requirements. Once those are all in place, the person is offered an indeterminate job. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that. I know that Regular MLAs will be watching for this to make sure that this does happen because it's really important to both the students and MLAs, that we're able to retain the students who are trained here at Aurora College and have most likely grown up here in the Northwest Territories as well.
Madam Speaker, currently public servants are being denied education leave for nursing as it does not fulfill their home department's mandate within the government. And so I'm wondering if Health and Social Services will work with the GNWT to create an allofgovernment approach to education leave for public servants who want to pursue nursing careers and who want to pursue studies within Aurora College? Thank you.
Yes, thank you. It's my information that the Department of Finance is reviewing the education leave program at this time and more detail is available from that department. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
