NWT nurses need higher pay, says MLA
A nursing shortage continues in the Northwest Territories and one MLA says the solution is offering higher wages.
Over the past two years, staffing shortages have forced the closure of key health services in the NWT, including several closures of the obstetrics unit in Inuvik.
Noting the country is experiencing a nursing shortage across the board, a spokesperson for Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority [NTHSSA] told NNSL Media that the NWT government filled 340.3 full-time equivalencies out of 360 front-line nursing positions budgeted for in 2024-25.
'Our continuing goal is to have as many of these filled as possible,' said NTHSSA communications director Krystal Pidborochynski. 'The NTHSSA may sometimes use agency nurses to fill gaps to prevent closure of essential services. The number changes depending on need. Currently the NTHSSA is using obstetrics nurses at Stanton Territorial Hospital and Inuvik Regional Hospital to fill gaps, as required.'
Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart said the GNWT needs to start listening to what the College of Nurses (College and Association of Nurses of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut) keeps telling them. The use of agency nurses, he noted, was particularly demoralizing for full-time staff and was pushing nurses away.
'Agency nurses are very well compensated,' he said. 'I think we should join in with other provinces and phase them out by 2026 and work on expanding our pool of locums.
'More importantly, training Indigenous and Northern nurses to stay in the NWT — we should be spending out money on the nurses who live here. We shouldn't be flying in private nurses who criss-cross across the country and get paid sometimes double what our staff are making. That's completely unacceptable.'
Testart added that he's spoken to nurses who have been denied leave simply because there wasn't enough staff on hand to allow them to have time off.
He said since the November 2023 territorial election, he's spoken to numerous nurses contending with low wages, extremely long hours and difficult conditions who simply had to stop working because they were burned out.
'I've seen nurses leave,' he said. 'Not just one, or two or three — but close to a dozen. That's a significant loss to the community.
'They're not being heard. They're not being properly compensated. We're not incentivizing front-line work.'
A regularly updated action plan, similar to what Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston has done since being elected, would help restore confidence in the territorial health authority, he added. Another area he suggested should be changed is how work schedules are handled — in most of the country a special agency oversees schedules, but in the NWT the task falls on nurses to organize themselves.
Testart likened the situation to a supply and demand situation, noting the shortage of nurses simply means individual practitioners are simply worth more.
'When you have a supply shortage, the price goes up,' he said. 'If there's a shortage of nurses, you pay them more — and you find ways to do that.'
May 12–18 is National Nursing Week.
FACT FILE
How NWT nurse wages compare to the rest of Canada
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
2 days ago
- Hamilton Spectator
I don't like to be all alone'; Potlotek Dad's Group keeping men healthy
POTLOTEK - Potlotek First Nation member Louis Marshall and a few other men may have found a solution to staying healthy and it doesn't involve stereotypical male pursuits. A study released at the end of May by the Canadian Men's Health Foundation (CMHF) discloses that more Canadian men than ever are struggling with high levels of stress, and half of them lack the social support systems that would keep them from higher levels of depression or anxiety. According to a recent press release, the organization's data garnered from a survey taken in April, 2025 of 2,000 men across the country shows a significantly higher level of social isolation among men living alone (73 per cent), younger men aged 19-29 (67 per cent) and racialized men (59 per cent ). CMHF launched an initiative for the month of June called #NeverAlone – a national campaign focused on raising awareness and highlighting the importance of social connection during Men's Health Month. But that's no mystery to Marshall or the handful of other members of the 'Dad's Group' that meets every Friday morning in Potlotek. 'I don't like to be all alone during the day when my family is at school,' he says. 'Meeting here helps my anxiety.' Marshall's mother just passed away and he says it's been helpful to get out with others who support and listen to him. VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES Fellow group member, Russell Battiste says the Dad's Group is a good place to interact with other men, socialize and learn skills such as how to cook. With the help of facilitator and family resource worker Luz Blandon the group hosts different activities every week. The gatherings function as a place for men – and sometimes their children – to learn about such things as emergency preparedness, barbering, and especially – cooking. They say they will have more outdoor activities as the weather gets better, and hope to take on some arts and crafts projects. 'This group has been helping the men in many ways,' says facilitator Blandon. 'It has helped with socialization, support for what's going on in their lives, and isolation, We also are able to get them places they need to be if they don't have transportation.' The group plays bingo every month and has conversations at times about mental, physical and emotional health care. And their children are always welcome if it is a day off school. Two recent activities they engaged in were making pizzas from scratch to have lunch together and gathering with other community members one evening to decorate jackets for the Blue Jean Jacket Day in honour of murdered, missing and exploited Indigenous men and boys held annually on June 6. 'This group gives me something to do and something to look forward to,' says Louis Marshall. Winston Marshall has been attending the group for about a year. He says he likes being with people and especially learning more cooking skills and the good conversation he can find each week. 'I just keep asking other people what they want to do and ask them to come out to the group,' he says. Group members say everyone is open to suggestions from others about activities they would like to do or learn about. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
2 days ago
- Hamilton Spectator
NTHSSA planning pop up immunization clinics to combat measles
Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority is planning 'pop up clinics' around the territory to provide measles vaccines to those who need it. An announcement was released May 23. 'NTHSSA remains committed to supporting this response and is actively planning clinics focused on the MMR vaccine, to ensure eligible residents who are not immunized, can protect themselves from potential exposures in the future,' said the unattributed press release. 'The NTHSSA also appreciates the cooperation and patience from the public as staff worked to mitigate further exposure of the virus.' No dates or locations have been announced to date, but NTHSSA is directing people to for information on when and where the clinics will be held. Officials also thanked Yellowknife Public Health staff for efforts to to immunize students and staff at number of schools in the Yellowknife area following the closure of Weledeh Catholic School and St. Pat's High School on May 5 following a confirmed measles exposure. 'Their rapid response has played a crucial role in helping to curb the spread of the virus and highlights the often unseen but vital work being done behind the scenes to safeguard the health and well-being of our community,' says the release. 'This includes health care staff who were redeployed to support a large volume of immunization requests received within the first 24 hours of the Public Health Advisory, as well as staff who worked behind the scenes to quickly stand up emergency management measures.' Measles, also known as rubeola, is a highly contagious disease that can have serious complications for children, pregnant women and people who are immunocompromised. Symptoms can appear anywhere from one to three weeks after exposure and complications can range from pneumonia to encephalitis, or swelling of the brain, which can lead to seizures, brain damage and even death. Symptoms of measles include high fever, a cough and runny nose, red and sore eyes and a red blotchy rash that starts on the face and spreads down the body. It is spread through the air by coughing or sneezing, and can also be transmitted through saliva by kissing. The virus can linger in the air for up to two hours after someone coughs and is most contagious before symptoms appear. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Miami Herald
Changemakers and moneymakers: Nonprofits meet with funders for community change
Ashley Eubanks Johnson never imagined she would find her calling on a highway off-ramp. While commuting home from work one evening in 2016, a homeless woman weaved through cars at a Pompano Beach stoplight to ask for change, her pants stained with blood due to her period. 'That really shocked me because the area we were in was down the street from a shelter,' admitted a now-38-year-old Eubanks Johnson. '[I] started calling around to different shelters, facilities and organizations that serve those that are unhoused and found little to no help or refuge for menstruators in need.' Shortly after, she took the money set aside for her 30th birthday trip to Jamaica and kickstarted The Beauty Initiative, a nonprofit that donates hygiene essentials like pads and tampons to women and girls in need. READ MORE: Nonprofit provides homeless women with help — and free sanitary hygiene items In the years since, Eubanks Johnson has revolutionized period-care awareness in greater Miami, touting her nonprofit's donation of 77,000 menstrual-care products to Miami-Dade County and Broward County schools this academic year, but the road to success has been bumpy. She has had to juggle her day job as a community liaison and database administrator for Broward County Public Schools alongside her community work for nearly a decade, occasionally dipping into her own paychecks to support the cause. 'I've done this work for almost nine years with no money, my money, and now some sponsorship money,' shares the Beauty Initiative CEO. Neglecting local grassroots nonprofits is an oversight that the world of philanthropy and one Miami-based organization are hoping to remedy. Changemakers and moneymakers A self-professed 'social impact accelerator,' Radical Partners' mission is to equip South Florida changemakers with the skills and funds needed to run a nonprofit and deploy them into their communities. The organization, which was established in 2012, pushes professional development and organizational management as part of the solution through initiatives such as Leadership Labs, a five-month program tailored to leaders who identify as Black, Indigenous or people of color. The other part of the solution? Rubbing elbows with moneymakers. In a Neighborhood Heroes Connect conference hosted by Radical Partners at the Phillip & Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Miami on June 5, The Beauty Initiative and other nonprofits met with JPMorgan Chase, TD Bank and other corporations to discuss the gaps in grassroots-nonprofit financing. Study findings released at the conference on the impact of Leadership Labs, whose curriculum promises networking opportunities with leaders in the nonprofit, for-profit and political sectors, revealed that the relationship between those funded and those funding is interdependent. Results from a survey conducted by Radical Partners showed that the improvements that nonprofits sought most aligned with what funders hoped to invest in. While most surveyed organizations reported fundraising, grant-writing help and optimized operational systems among their highest needs, funders reported innovative fundraising efforts and strong daily operations as the most attractive qualities when considering which groups to finance. 'There are things that you can achieve at a neighborhood level, where there's more trust and where, culturally, people understand the individuals they're working with,' said Ana Castillo, TD Bank's Florida regional community development manager. Castillo leverages her role to give marginalized communities in South Florida more access to traditional banking so they don't have to resort to risky financial moves such as payday loans. She says TD Bank's mission is accomplished, in part, by funding local organizations that understand their underserved neighborhoods best. Meanwhile, nonprofits such as the Foot Forward Foundation, founded by Broward-based Christopher Sisco and Maurizo Raponi, benefit from the spotlight that tends to follow funders. '[We want] just a little bit of visibility,' said Sisco, 41, who began the initiative in 2022 by handing out shoes from his own 'sneakerhead' collection to homeless people. The nonprofit has since expanded to serve low-income students and has launched six shoe-donation campaigns at schools across Broward and Miami-Dade in the past 18 months. 'We do what we do because we enjoy doing it, but [we hope] for more people with big pockets to see what Foot Forward is doing.' Creative solutions Championing collaboration between funders and nonprofit leaders, Radical Partners CEO Joana Godoy proposes what her organization calls 'creative solutions' to long-standing obstacles in the nonprofit sector. To alleviate the disparity between funders' donation caps and nonprofits' need for resources, Godoy suggests nonprofits share services and spaces — such as collectively pitching in for an accountant or having joint office areas — to spur teamwork while cutting costs. How to streamline administrative work when short-staffed? She recommends nonprofits look to how the business world has used artificial intelligence. 'We might die trying [to implement these solutions alone],' urged Godoy. 'So what we're offering here is, instead of putting everything on [ourselves], meaning 'my team, my organization, my funders,' for us to approach it as an ecosystem.' It's an outlook that changemakers such as Eubanks Johnson, who graduated from Leadership Labs' third cohort in 2019, have already begun to adopt and benefit from. '[Radical Partners gives] us the tools we need to lead, connects us with a community of trusted collaborators and . . . [helped me] lean into my gifts and trust myself,' shared Eubanks Johnson. 'With doing that, I was able to center my work in service with so many others.'
