Mr. Speaker, insofar as Indigenous Services Canada, or ISC, is concerned, the response is as follows.
With regard to part (a), as of January 31, 2023, across the department, ISC employed 783 nurses in a variety of direct and supportive services. With regard to part (a)(i), there are 375 full-time community health nurses, or NUCHN, and 29 full-time general duty nurses, or NUHOS.
For the NUHOS, classified nurses work in the two federal hospitals in Manitoba.
With regard to part (a)(ii), there are 368 part-time NUCHN and 11 part-time NUHOS.
With regard to part (b), since September 1, 2022, ISC has hired 111 NUCHN and two NUHOS.
With regard to part (c), in the 50 remote and isolated communities where ISC directly manages primary health care, registered nurses are the primary health human resource, and they are supplemented by other regulated nurses, such as nurse practitioners and licensed practical nurses, and other disciplines such as paramedics. Team rotations in nursing stations are managed through a national nurse scheduling system, and as a result of the transient rotational nature of the workforce, meaning two weeks in and two weeks out of community, ISC determines a point in time measure of “operational vacancy”.
As of February 15, 2023, the average operational vacancy was determined to be 68% for the public servant positions, which was then augmented with auxiliary and contracted resources. The actual number of public servant nursing positions in ISC staffed nursing stations in order to be fully staffed on any given day is 223, which is 100% occupancy. The average fill rate in recent months of these 223 positions includes 71 public servant nurses, leaving 152 positions required to be augmented by 79 contracted agency nurses and 30 auxiliary health human resources, and leaving 43 nursing positions unstaffed. It is therefore 223 less 71, which is 152, divided by 223, or 68% minus the 35% covered by contracted resources. That leaves a 33% overall nurse vacancy, which has been augmented with 30 auxiliary positions.
With regard to part (d), in Manitoba and Ontario, all remote and isolated ISC-managed nursing stations have experienced reduced capacity due to staffing shortages in the past two months. Over the past two months, all Manitoba and Ontario nursing stations ran below capacity for at least one day. This is due primarily to staffing shortages and the rotational nature of this kind of nursing.
To address these vacancies, ISC contracts agencies to quickly augment staff levels in nursing stations with high, urgent needs. ISC continues to monitor staff levels on a daily basis and adjusts staffing as necessary.
Nurses working in remote and isolated communities are some of the most resourceful and resilient health care professionals across Canada. In acknowledgement of their efforts and the current challenges in staffing, the Government of Canada and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada have reached an agreement to increase the existing recruitment and retention allowances for ISC nurses working in these locations.
It is essential now more than ever to ensure nurses are available and accessible to indigenous peoples living in remote and isolated locations. We recognize the effects that staffing challenges at health centres and nursing stations in remote and isolated communities can have on first nations communities. As such, ISC continues to work closely with indigenous partners, communities and leaders to pursue timely solutions to raise staffing levels and maintain the health and well-being of indigenous peoples.
