Hon. Flordeliz (Gigi) Osler: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Manitoba has the highest proportion of First Nations residents among Canadian provinces. For many indicators of health, there is a widening gap between First Nations residents and other Manitobans. In 2021, Indigenous Services Canada established the Nursing Health Human Resources Framework to respond to nursing shortages and to address nursing station closures in remote and isolated First Nations communities. Yet, in a media conference last week, the Chief of the Pimicikamak Cree Nation, a First Nation in northern Manitoba that is home to over 8,000 on-reserve residents, stated that their nursing station repeatedly faces closures due to nursing staff shortages.

Senator Gold, what is the government doing to ensure the effectiveness of the Nursing Health Human Resources Framework as we continue to hear about nursing shortages and nursing station closures in Manitoba?