In interviews last November as John Horgan was exiting his job as B.C. Premier, he paused to reflect on the biggest issues facing government – not just his, but governments right across the country.
The announcement Monday commits B.C. to directly cover application and assessment fees for internationally educated nurses who want to work in the province, and to also provide financial help for nurses who wish to re-enter the work force. In addition, registration with the BC College of Nurses & Midwives, or BCCNM, will be faster.
But the trendline, and even Mr. Eby’s own health minister, would suggest such exuberance should be curbed. But the nurses’ union’s data show that by the end of June last year, the number of unfilled nursing positions was 4,293. By the end of September, the figure had risen to 5,325. The measures announced last April have prompted 5,500 to express an interest in working in British Columbia, with 2,000 “actively working through the various stages of the registration and assessment process.”
Isn’t it nice to hear a province working to solve their own problems without politicizing it and blaming the federal Govt! See Alberta’s ucp.