Government grants $5.36 million to Alberta's Health and Wellness

Lee Richardson, Member of Parliament for Calgary Centre, on behalf of the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health, and the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today announced a federal contribution of $536,000 to Alberta Health and Wellness to pilot test an innovative off-shore assessment program for internationally educated nurses immigrating to Canada.

"Projects such as this will help to alleviate Canada's nursing shortage, which in turn will lead to improved care and a reduction in wait times. This is a ground-breaking initiative, in which the Government of Canada is proud to take part," said Minister Clement.

"Canada has a skills shortage and skilled immigrants want to contribute to our country by working in the fields for which they've been trained. We want to help them do that and one of the best ways is to help them get their credentials assessed before they enter the country so that when they arrive, they can find work faster in their fields," said Minister Finley.

Traditionally, internationally educated nurses who wanted to work in Alberta needed to travel to Mount Royal College in Calgary to take the assessment exams. Once this off-shore pilot project is fully implemented, 36 nursing candidates will be assessed overseas, with their language, knowledge and competencies measured against Registered Nurse (RN) competency standards. The nurses will be informed of any areas that require supplemental learning.

"I am thrilled that this project is taking place here in Alberta," said Mr. Richardson. "Internationally trained nurses can now be assessed before they arrive to Alberta, so that when they arrive they'll be able to start working as nurses sooner."

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