Want A Break On Your Student Loans? Practice Medicine In Northern Ontario, Ignatieff Promises
Posted April 16, 2010 10:37 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said Friday he would forgive student debt on federal loans in an effort to attract more health-care workers to rural Canada.
Ignatieff said he would forgive up to $20,000 of student debt on loans over four years for incoming doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners who choose to work in rural communities designated as being underserved.
He said the initiative would cost $30 million and help attract and retain more than 1,500 new health professionals annually.
“It’s a serious commitment to improve rural health service in Canada,” Ignatieff told a news conference in this community of 14,000, about an hour’s drive from Halifax.
“We want to encourage and find ways to help rural Canadians enrol in medical schools. We want to help find new doctors and nurses to get employment for their spouses in communities that need doctors.”
He said an equitable share of funds would be applied toward regional health needs in Quebec because that province isn’t part of the Canada Students Loans Program.
The Liberals say while 20 per cent of Canadians live in rural areas, only 10 per cent of Canada’s doctors practice there.
