The federal government is taking steps to help doctors and nurses working in rural and remote communities.
Steven MacKinnon, minister for employment, workforce development and labour, and Glengarry-Prescott-Russell MP Francis Drouin drove out to Hawkesbury Thursday, March 6, for a press conference at the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital to announce changes to the Canada Student Loan forgiveness program that will benefit doctors and nurses working in rural and remote communities.
“Doctors and nurses have their hands full, helping treat and protect Canadians in emergency rooms and doctors’ offices across the country,” said MacKinnon. “They should not also have to worry about student loan debt. That is why we are making it easier for students to pursue a career in health without carrying the burden of student debt.”
The changes to the Canada Student Loan forgiveness program broadens the definition of “under-serve rural or remote community” and means that health-care workers in more than 200 communities are now eligible to have some of their student loans forgiven. Becoming a nurse takes between one to four years of study and practical training for certification while a licensed doctor spends up to 14 years in study and practical training.
Hawkesbury was one of the first communities with a local hospital whose doctors and nurses benefited from the Canada Student Loan forgiveness program when it was first introduced in 2013. The changes to the current program guidelines mean that over the next 10 years at least 900 doctors and nurses working in rural and remote communities will benefit from forgiveness on some of their student loans.
MacKinnon indicated that there are plans to further expand the student loan forgiveness program to include other health, social, and mental care professionals. The goal is to help encourage doctors, nurses, social workers, and mental health professionals to consider postings outside of the major urban centres.
“Like Hawkesbury, many more rural and remote communities will now become home to doctors and nurses,” said MacKinnon, “and other medical and social services professionals, who are ready to serve their communities and deliver the health care services that Canadians need today.”
