Ahnee!
Boozhoo!
Sago!
Sheko:li!
Wachay!

Based on the Health Canada Aboriginal Health Human Resources Initiative Program Framework in 2006, there was an indication that recent studies have shown that all jurisdictions in Canada are presently experiencing shortages of health care providers. These studies have clearly demonstrated that without concerted efforts to increase the number of students entering into health professions, the health care system will be in a state of serious shortage within the next decade.

The shortage of health care workers is a national issue, especially in First Nations communities. Severe gaps in services exist in First Nations communities, and First Nations peoples are under-represented in all health care fields, compared to the general population. In 1996 the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples stated that workers would be required in all areas of health, including medicine, nursing, mental health, psychology, midwives, dentistry, nutrition, addictions, gerontology, public health, health administration, and other areas. The report recommended steps that government and educational institutions should take to train 10,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis workers in health and social services by 2006. The federal government supported this recommendation, and agrees it is key to improving the health care delivery system for First Nations.