Cloutier says Rural Canada Health Services matter
FROM: Liberal Candidate for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing François Cloutier
François Cloutier fighting for more doctors and nurses in Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing
Health services in rural Canada matters to our quality of life
Liberal Candidate for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, François Cloutier
ALGOMA-MANITOULIN-KAPUSKASING – A future Liberal government would help to attract and retain more doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners to underserved rural communities by forgiving up to $20,000 of their student debt, François Cloutier, Liberal candidate for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing has announced.
“Too many families in the Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing region just don’t have a doctor, and in some cases they have to drive for hours to receive medical attention,” said Cloutier.
“The issue is that rural communities have 20 percent of our country’s population, but only 10 percent of our doctors. The residents of Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing should have access to the same level of medical service as the rest of Canadians across the country.”
Under this proposal, a future Liberal government would work with the provinces and territories to forgive $5,000 per year in federal student loans, up to $20,000 over four years, for doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners who choose to practice in a designated underserved rural community. The full cost of this initiative is estimated at $30 million annually, and would help more than 1,500 new health professionals each year.
“Michael Ignatieff is listening to his rural caucus,” François Cloutier said. “The residents of Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing are looking for a government to bridge the inequality of services between rural and urban Canada.”
Liberals have also committed to working in partnership with provinces and territories to explore other ways to strengthen rural health services, including:
- Support for rural-focused medical and nursing education;
- Encouraging young Canadians in rural communities to go to medical school or study nursing;
- Introducing programs to find employment for the spouses of new doctors and nurses;
- Strengthening rural medicine extension programs; and
- Improving internet access for rural health practitioners.
Liberals present Canadians with a clear choice: our plan to tackle the Conservative deficit and invest in jobs and our people – including rural health services – or Stephen Harper’s plan of giving further tax cuts to corporations before we can afford to lower them further.
