N.S. premier contemplates an end to recruiting health-care professionals from within Canada

When it comes to recruiting health-care professionals, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston thinks provinces should be looking outside Canada rather than to other provinces and territories.

“I’m not a fan of trying to go to another province and trying to recruit some of their health-care professionals,” Houston told reporters at Province House on Friday.

“I think there are other places to recruit from.”

Houston said he plans to raise the issue during meetings with the rest of the premiers when they are in Halifax on Sunday and Monday.

“It’s a big world with lots of qualified people. We want to make sure that we’re recruiting appropriately.”

Recruiting in Canada continues

Nova Scotia has ongoing recruitment efforts in countries such as Australia, India, New Zealand, the Philippines and in the United Kingdom. Recently it became easier for doctors in the United States and other Western countries to come here to work.

But like the rest of the provinces in Canada, Nova Scotia has long worked to recruit health-care professionals and graduates from other parts of the country. Houston said he was not aware of any current efforts. According to the Health Department, in the last year Nova Scotia has had a recruitment presence in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick, with a focus on Nova Scotians studying out of province. A spokesperson said the government is no longer actively recruiting from other provinces.

Despite those efforts, the province has always been challenged by its ability to offer wages that can compete with larger provinces such as Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.

Houston said he’s discussed the idea of Nova Scotia stopping the practice, but he has stopped short of issuing a directive to end recruitment of health-care workers from other parts of Canada.

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said the province’s need for health-care workers is so great that limiting recruitment to certain places does not make sense.

“In fact, most of the population growth we’ve had in Nova Scotia in the last number of years has been from other provinces,” Churchill told reporters at Province House.

“So we know that other Canadians want to live here. I don’t know why the premier would want to limit our ability to actually recruit from other provinces when people seem to like it here in Nova Scotia.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said she trusts the province’s ability to recruit, but thinks there needs to be a greater focus on retention.

Chender called the recent contract settlements with doctors and nurses and a bonus for nurses “a step in the right direction,” but she said more work is required to address problems with morale and working conditions.

“They need to start with making the workers here at home feel valued, well compensated and working in environments where they are able to do their job,” she told reporters.

“It’s not just doctors and nurses that work in our health-care system; there’s all kinds of other folks who continue to be challenged with rising inflation, but it’s also the morale of the labour force.”