Finance committee  I would have to reiterate what I've said already. What is it being used for? Where is it going? For sure, some education seats have been increased in the nursing programs in Saskatchewan, but I can tell you right now that they're not going to meet the needs for the future. But pa

Finance committee  Infrastructure?

Finance committee  And information technology and those kinds of things. We need the continuous education to be occurring within the health care industry as well as in the education seats for nursing.

Finance committee  I would have to say we are very disappointed in the government's response to our call for attention to the nursing shortage. We're very disappointed because this is not a new issue, it has been highlighted on the horizon for a number of years. Of course, now we're into it and fee

Finance committee  Yes, we would like to see that, which is why we're asking for the pan-Canadian strategy. If you're going to put the funds in, we need to measure what they're doing. They may have used those for programs, but obviously were not successful. There needs to be an evaluation of what's

Finance committee  I have no specific comment on the GST. What we're asking for is an investment in health human resources across the country, and I can't see how that can be funded without....

Finance committee  Not with the nursing shortage. We need some strategies right now to deal with it.

Finance committee  I can't tell you exactly where it went, but I think you're right. We need targeted funding and the strategies that such funding is going to support, because we need to deal with the issues of the nursing shortage right now.

Finance committee  Thank you. No, there is no simple answer to the nursing crisis right now. The shortage is in a crisis state. It will require an increase in the education seats. It requires recruitment of nurses, perhaps of the ones who have left to come home, or perhaps of those who have retir

Finance committee  The very point that some provinces are increasing leads us to know there are strategies that could be used. Given that the federal government's goals are to reduce waiting lists and to provide quality care, I would think they could implement pan-Canadian strategies. That would me

Finance committee  I wouldn't comment on the doctor shortage, although I think that's an important issue as well. I just think the nursing workforce should have some similar priorities set for it.

Finance committee  Sorry, but I missed the last figure.

Finance committee  Thank you, and good morning. My name is Marlene Brown. I'm a registered nurse and the first vice-president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses. The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses represents 7,700 registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses employed in long-term care, home