Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In 2023, British Columbia became the first province or territory in Canada to establish minimum nurse-to-patient ratios. In partnership between the provincial government and BC nurses’ union, implementation will occur over three years. It's worth $750 million, and there's an additional $237 million that's being spent for immediate recruitment and retention to fill an estimated 8,000 new nurses.
Has the Minister reviewed B.C.'s minimum nurse-to-patient ratio system and will she implement it in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe that NTHSSA has assessed the ratios based on what -- our model of care is a little different than BC, and so what has happened is that they are -- the department is actually taking -- examining this to understand where and what the numbers would be based on our staffing model versus BC. And the chief nursing officer and the director of patient care are actually travelling to BC to meet with and learn from what BC has learned from this change. And so once they return from that, I am hoping that I would have a better understanding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think the biggest thing that BC is learning is that they don't have enough nurses. So some of the things they're doing is fast-tracking the licensing of international-educated nurses, providing financial incentives for retired or inactive nurses to return to the frontline, and expanding nurse seats in schools across the province. So will the Minister pursue those lines of incentives to ensure we are recruiting nurses along the same lines as British Columbia? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I can say is that we are working closely with CAN on how to move international-educated nurses into our system. We are working -- you know, we do graduate -- I believe this year is another large class that will be graduating from the nursing program. I am not sure how much more capacity our college could have to expand that. But I also know that we have many, many NWT residents that are also outside the territory currently training, and a lot of them want to come home and, you know, we have jobs for them. So we just need to ensure that we are making sure that we do set up the proper mentorship and on-boarding of these staff. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister For Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you. And I think details are important here, Mr. Speaker. But, I mean, if anyone woke up this morning and felt the minus 40 wind in their face, they'll know that it's way more enjoyable to be working as a nurse in sunny British Columbia in Vancouver and Victoria. So we are now competing with a jurisdiction that is doing a hell of a lot to recruit 8,000 nurses. How is the Minister going to keep pace when a province is spending billions of dollars on nurses and we are still struggling to figure out how to retain them? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Potato/potata. Well, I mean, I love the North. I would never move to Vancouver or anywhere in BC; I don't like the rain, I don't like the fires. So I believe that, you know, the North is a place where you go when you want a lifestyle and many people love and enjoy -- like, the nurses that I worked with in Inuvik, and they continue -- they're there, they love it, it's their home. You know, and I think this is the thing, is we have a work-life balance and, you know, unfortunately, sometimes, you know, we talk about, yes, there's times where nurses have to work overtime and, you know, those are the things that we are challenged with and I won't -- I won't, you know -- yeah, we have to compete across everyone moving here and when we -- you know, when we hear about the cost of what houses are here versus Vancouver, I mean, you could still buy a nice house and a lot here than you can in a condo in downtown Vancouver or somewhere. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Monfwi.
