Mr. Speaker, my colleague indicated that she is the health critic for her party, and I applaud her in that role.
One of the challenges that all of us, as members of Parliament from all across Canada, are aware of is the challenge of trying to have medical doctors and nurse practitioners settle into remote and rural areas. I know of many communities that have set up formal committees to recruit medical personnel into their underserved areas.
I wonder if the member is aware that this budget would provide student loan forgiveness for medical doctors and nurses who work in rural and remote areas. Practising physicians would be eligible for a federal Canada student loan forgiveness of up to $8,000 per year to a maximum of $40,000, and nurse practitioners would be eligible for federal student loan forgiveness up to $4,000 per year to a maximum of $20,000. It seems to me that this is a great initiative to encourage medical doctors and nurse practitioners to settle in rural and remote areas.
Will the member stand in this place and vote in support of a measure that would improve health care for rural Canadians?