Newfoundland and Labrador offering expat doctors $100,000 to come home to practise
The government of Newfoundland and Labrador is offering up big money in an effort to entice doctors, nurses and paramedics working outside the province to move back home.
Doctors who were born, educated, trained or who had previous practices in the province are eligible for $100,000 if they agree to return to Newfoundland and Labrador to work for at least five years. Nurses and paramedics meeting the same criteria will qualify for a payment of at least $50,000 if they commit for three years, the government announced Tuesday.
"If they've got a connection, they're more likely to stay," Health Minister Tom Osborne told reporters.
"This is a recruitment incentive," Osborne added. "There are also retention issues that we're working on."
Like many provinces, Newfoundland and Labrador's health-care system is buckling under the weight of labour shortages. Emergency rooms in rural parts of the province have been intermittently closed throughout the summer and fall as the province struggles to find doctors to keep them open.
Polling from the province's medical association estimates that nearly a quarter of residents are without a family doctor.
The province calls the latest recruitment initiative Come Home 2022. The name comes from its Come Home Year 2022 tourism campaign launched last year to encourage those who have moved away to come home for a visit.
Though the main thrust of the campaign is to lure expatriate Newfoundland and Labrador health-care workers, there are incentives for professionals without connections to the province. Doctors in that group can qualify for $50,000 if they agree to the five-year commitment, while nurses and paramedics can get up to $30,000 for three years, depending on their credentials, Osborne said.
"It is in addition to any other incentive," he said. "We've done this to make us the most competitive."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
Pilot proposes to flight attendant girlfriend in front of passengers
A Polish pilot proposed to his flight attendant girlfriend during a flight from Warsaw to Krakow, and she said yes.
Suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery caught on video
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.