Mr. Speaker, this week is Nursing Week but all is not well. In the next 10 years we will have a shortage of 112,000 nurses. Hospitals are relying on nurses to do overtime just to fill their spots. I have worked in hospitals where half the nursing spots in the intensive care unit and emergency department are simply not filled.
This crisis is not only confined to nursing. It also happens with physicians. Our population is aging too. Today 25% of the physician population is over the age of 55. In the next 15 years that number will rise to the point where 45% of all doctors will be over the age of 55. The crisis is staggering. Who will care for us when we are old if there are no doctors and nurses left?
I implore the government to work with the provinces to increase enrolment in medical, nursing and training faculties by 20% and have a tuition for service in outlying areas program that will enable us to fill the absolute dire crisis in rural areas. We must act now. This crisis is not going away. Lives depend on it.