Quebec spends $100 million on nurse incentives

The Quebec government announced Tuesday they will spend more than $100 million to keep nurses working in the public system.

Health Minister Yves Bolduc said the government would offer graduating nurses an annual bonus of $3,000 for the next three years if they commit to work a certain number of hours in the public health-care sector. Graduating nurse practitioners would receive $2,000 and experienced nurses who agree to delay their retirement would receive an annual bonus of $8,000 over three years.

Bolduc said the government wants to reduce the temptation for nurses to leave the public sector in favour of well-paying, private agencies .

"The nurses would come in the public system at the beginning of [their] practice and at this moment we have a better chance to keep them on the long-term," said Bolduc.

Catherine Vandemeulebroecke, a nursing graduate from Universit de Montreal, said shes encouraged by the announcement.

"I think it will give us the possibility to get more money and have our dreams come true... and I think its gonna be a good way of keeping the new nurses in because sometimes its fun to have more money," Vandemeulebroecke said.

But Quebec's Federation of Nurses slammed the provinces plan on Tuesday, saying its insulting to all other nurses.

"It has to be for everybody. The majority are between their fourth and 34th year and they get nothing," said Michelle Boisclair, vice-president of the Quebec nursing federation.

Bolduc said the province would try this out for the next three years before re-evaluating the program.