Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It seems to me that there are a number of solutions to make sure that the nursing licensing process runs smoothly. Ontario is exploring as of right nursing licenses for any other Canadian nurse. A number of provinces have issued ministerial directives with timelines in them. Perhaps some sort of temporary license while the whole process goes through is possible. Or, you know, perhaps it's as simple as accepting a less kind of formal version of the paperwork so we can make sure that these processes are running timely. I don't know exactly what the solution is, but I have to believe this is a solvable problem.
So my question for the Minister of health is she willing to work with the Registered Nursing Association of the NWT and Nunavut and make sure we have a clear and efficient process to get these licenses processed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. So the licensing of nurses of all kinds is handled by the Registered Nurses Association of the NWT and Nunavut. So they're the ones who process the registration application. And the application does require proof of credentials, prior work sites, hours worked, and so on and so forth. That means that often they have to apply to the licensing authority where they were previously employed for paperwork. And as the Member said in his statement, in the case of Ontario it took a couple of months to get that lined up. So I don't know how the registered nurses association can speed up the process. It's something I can ask them about but they have the ultimate authority. And it's the authority we want them to have to ensure that nurses that we welcome in the NWT are qualified to work here. Thank you.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, I think there's a bit of a I appreciate the Minister saying that. And, you know, I think there's a bit of a first step is a meeting to kind of figure out if they recognize any processes they could speed up on their end. I recognize a lot of this is in other provinces' nursing associations hands. But it seems to me if this is just going to be the reality accepted, then some sort of larger step is needed. And whether that is legislating timelines, ultimately we do have control, whether that's a ministerial directive. I do believe that, you know, if they're not willing to make sure their process is running smoothly, the Minister has to look at other options. So I guess I'll just confirm the Minister's commitment that she will meet with or her staff will meet with the registered nursing association and see if there's anything that can be done in the shortterm to speed up this process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm certainly willing to make that commitment to meet with the nurses association and see if there is anything that we can assist them to do to speed up the licensing. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
