Annual Meeting 2011

Resolutions

CNA Resolutions - June 2004

RESOLUTION 4	ADVERTISEMENTS TO RECRUIT NURSES FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES
(Defeated)

BE IT RESOLVED, That the Board of Directors of the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) establish a policy that prohibits the acceptance of advertisements in the Canadian Nurse journal to recruit Canadian nurses to migrate to foreign countries; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That CNA establish an action plan, with specific time frames, to achieve this objective, so as not to negatively impact the financial position of the journal and CNA.

Background

The CNA and the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario have endorsed the International Council of Nurses’ (ICN) position statement on Nurse Retention, Transfer and Migration, as follows:

ICN and its member associations firmly believe that quality health care is directly dependent on an adequate supply of qualified nursing personnel.

ICN recognizes the right of individual nurses to migrate, while acknowledging the possible adverse effect that international migration may have on health care quality.

ICN condemns the practice of recruiting nurses to countries where authorities have failed to address human resource planning and problems that cause nurses to leave the profession and discourage them from returning to nursing.

Across Canada, health human resource planning for nursing has been a patchwork of initiatives. These strategies have frequently addressed recruitment and/or retention in the short-term and in some cases, targeted to specific sectors or communities rather than comprehensive approaches. In every community, region, territory and province of Canada, there is an ever increasing shortage of nurses. The health human resource strategy in Canada needs to reflect a comprehensive long-term approach rather than the current patchwork of strategies and policies which fails to address the root problems and instead creates new challenges.

Despite the stated position of CNA, the Canadian Nurse journal, the professional publication of CNA, regularly accepts numerous advertisements from foreign countries (e.g., the US, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Ireland and New Zealand).

Submitted by the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario