Canadian Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh has announced federal funding of $5.53 million to help strengthen Canada's nursing workforce paying tribute to the critical role nurses play in Canada's health care system. Minister Dosanjh made this announcement in a speech to the Nursing Leadership Conference.
"I have criss-crossed this country many times and have seen the direct impact nurses have on the lives of Canadians - whether promoting healthy living or providing palliative care," Minister Dosanjh said in a speech to the Nursing Leadership Conference of the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA). "You would be hard pressed to find a Canadian family that has not been touched by the quality of your care."
Calling nurses "the backbone of our health system," the Minister announced a series of initiatives to improve working conditions and increase recruitment and retention of nurses as part of the Government's broad strategy to renew the health care workforce.
Health Canada has contributed $3.98 million to the Canadian Nurses Association to develop a bilingual online portal that will provide timely information on everything from public health alerts to continuing education opportunities. The Minister said the portal will serve nurses across the country, but will be especially valuable to nurses working in rural and isolated locations, including the North and Aboriginal communities. The portal will be launched at the Canadian Nurses Association Biennial Conference in June 2006 in Saskatchewan.
"The portal means that nurses in all parts of Canada, from the inner city to the farthest flung coastal community, can quickly find the information they need to do their jobs or find support for themselves to better cope with the challenges of their working environments," said Minister Dosanjh. "The portal will create a forum for all nurses across Canada to mentor each other and share best practices."
The Minister said he recognized that nursing shortages, unreasonable workloads and illness and injury are taking a toll on the health and morale of Canada's nurses. He announced federal funding for six projects to address such problems: