NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has announced a new plan to tackle Canada’s ongoing nursing shortage, focusing on hiring more nurses, improving working conditions, and reducing reliance on costly private agencies. The NDP’s Health Care Workforce Strategy aims to address the 32,000 vacant nursing positions across the country, which have led to overwhelmed emergency rooms and delayed care.
The plan includes measures to ensure fair wages, enforce nurse-to-patient ratios, and improve workplace conditions. It also proposes linking federal health transfers to specific hiring and retention strategies for nurses. Singh’s strategy calls for ending the $1.5 billion spent on private nursing agencies and instead investing in strong public health care teams, especially in rural and Indigenous communities.
The NDP plan also seeks to fast-track the accreditation of internationally trained nurses, recruit from the U.S., and provide paid clinical training for student nurses. To support current workers, Singh is calling for a $5,000 tax credit for nurses and personal support workers.
Singh emphasized that Canada’s public health care system can only succeed if those who deliver it are supported, with the NDP committed to holding the powerful accountable and ensuring access to quality care for all.
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