DETTAH, NWT – A Liberal government will attract more doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners to Northern communities, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said today while visiting the Det’on Cho Training Centre with Liberal Western Arctic candidate Joe Handley.
“All Canadians should have access to comparable levels of health care service, regardless of where they live,” said Mr. Ignatieff. “Families in the North often have real difficulty accessing a doctor or nurse to help their loved ones – and that’s just not right.”
While 20% of Canadians live in rural and remote areas, only 10% of Canada’s doctors practice there. To attract new medical professionals to the North, a Liberal government will work with the provinces and territories to forgive up to $40,000 of student debt for doctors and $20,000 for nurses and nurse practitioners who choose to practice in designated Northern communities. This initiative would help to attract and retain many more health professionals each year.
“The availability of health care services for those living in the North has been a concern for many years – and we’re listening, because the success of the North matters so much to the future of our country,” said Mr. Ignatieff. “That’s why a future Liberal government will fund incentives that will attract health professionals to Northern communities where there is a shortage in health services, as well as help to retain them.”
A Liberal government will also invest $40 million over the next two years, in partnership with the provinces and territories, to develop and fund additional programs to strengthen rural health services, including:
- Support for rural-focused medical and nursing training;
- Encourage young Canadians in rural communities to go to medical school or study nursing;
- Introduce programs to find employment for the spouses of new doctors and nurses;
- Strengthen upgrading programs for rural medicine; and
- Improving internet access for rural health practitioners.
A Liberal government will convene a meeting of provincial and territorial premiers within 60 days to launch work on new funding arrangements and system-wide reforms to secure the future of health care in Canada. With the 2004 Health Accord set to expire in 2014, the next health agreement must ensure that the needs of the North are addressed, and that discussion must begin now – not three years from now.
“We can create a bright future for Northerners – without raising their taxes – if we stop corporate giveaways, turn the page on wasteful spending like $30-billion fighter jets, and focus on what really matters: giving every Canadian the tools to succeed in the years ahead.”
