Frequently Asked Questions

This content was archived on June 24, 2013.

• What is Health Canada's Office of Nursing Policy doing about the nursing shortage?
• What is the federal government doing for health human resources in Canada?

1) What is Health Canada's Office of Nursing Policy doing about the nursing shortage?
The causes of the nursing shortages confronting Canada and most other countries are complex and historic. We know that excellent nursing care is essential to maintaining and improving the health of Canadians. Therefore, putting mechanisms in place to nourish a strong and vibrant nursing workforce is a priority.

Health Canada is a key player in a number of important national initiatives related to the recruitment and retention of nurses. Most visible was the creation of the national Office of Nursing Policy, and our leadership in projects such as the National Sector/Occupational Study of Nursing and the Nursing Strategy for Canada. The latter two multi-sectoral projects were implemented to understand the dynamics of the nursing workforce and make recommendations to develop a well-educated, sustainable nursing workforce for the country.

The findings and recommendations released in August 2002 in the Final Report of the Canadian Nursing Advisory Committee (Canadian Nursing Advisory Committee) have offered governments, employers, unions and other stakeholders a broad menu of helpful suggestions to improve the working conditions of Canada's nurses. Health Canada is working closely with its provincial and territorial partners to determine costs and set priorities for implementing the Canadian Nursing Advisory Committee recommendations.

The evidence before us is convincing, strengthening nursing workplaces is the most important strategy we can undertake to recruit and retain nurses. Therefore, under the leadership of the Office of Nursing Policy, Health Canada has provided $250,000 for the development of "Healthy Workplace Guidelines." We know that many employers and managers are struggling to interpret the recommendations from all the research and reports about human resources that have been published over the last two years. The purpose of the guidelines project is to synthesize that information and then generate clear, practical, evidence-based strategies to employers, unions and other stakeholders who want to improve nursing working conditions.

The Office was also instrumental in a recent Request for Letters of Intent for primary research on "Quality Workplaces for Health Professionals: Research on Knowledge Utilization". In relation to the numerous reports on healthy workplaces, this research will examine:

• the results of dissemination
• what efforts were made to adapt and/or implement recommendations to date
• what other changes were made, are under way, or are under consideration at the policy, health system, and / or workplace levels
• what factors have affected adoption and implementation of recommendations to date.

Funding for successful proposals is expected to begin in April 2004, with final reports submitted by March 2006.

The Office of Nursing Policy has assumed strong leadership in developing broad projects to monitor the health of nurses, develop worklife quality indicators for the national accreditation program, strengthen the country's nursing research capacity, renew the workforce of nurse educators (many of whom are approaching retirement age), and attract and retain a diverse workforce at all levels in nursing.

For information about what provincial and territorial governments are doing to address the nursing shortage, see Provincial and Territorial Governments.

2) What is the federal government doing for health human resources in Canada?
On February 5, 2003, the Federal Government, Provincial Premiers and Territorial Leaders reached a historic agreement, the 2003 Health Accord, to renew and sustain public health care for Canadians. This agreement resulted in a federal investment of $34.8 billion over the next five years. Some of the federal commitments under the Health Accord, and the 2003 federal budget, which impact health human resources are highlighted below.

• Sixteen billion dollars ($16B) over five years to enhance accessibility in three key areas: primary health care, home care, and catastrophic drugs. First Ministers agreed to move towards ensuring that fifty percent of Canadians have access to an appropriate health care provider, seven days a week, twenty four hours a day, by 2008.
• One and a half billion dollars ($1.5B) over three years to improve the availability and accessibility of medical and diagnostic equipment. This includes equipment to enhance patient care, and the working conditions of health providers - for example, hospital beds, patient lifting devices, and others.
• A portion of the $1.3 billion dedicated to First Nations and Inuit health services will go towards enhancing nursing services for First Nations / Inuit communities.
• Ninety million dollars ($90M) over five years to improve national health human resources planning and coordination. This funding will support better planning and management, improved recruitment and retention, and educational initiatives to promote effective inter-disciplinary primary health care.
• Fifty million dollars ($50M) over five years towards the creation of a Patient Safety Institute.
• Twenty five million dollars ($25M) over ten years to the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation to initiate the Executive Training Research Application (EXTRA) program which will assist managers in applying relevant research.