Quebec, after having announced a program of 65 million dollars over two years aimed at recruiting 1,000 nurses abroad, from French-speaking countries, excluded Haiti because of the training programs offered in Haiti which were not similar totally to those of Quebec, the Legault government has turned around.

This exclusion had caused the misunderstanding of Haitian nurses working in the Quebec health system when Haiti is the 2nd country, after France, provider of nursing staff graduates outside Quebec. 563 nurses of Haitian origin were members of the Ordre des Infirmières et Infirmiers du Québec (OIIQ) in 2021.

It was Jean Boulet the Minister of Labor, who announced Tuesday, April 5, 2022, via social networks that Haiti will finally be added "to the list of countries prioritized to respond to the labor shortage". Boulet added that Haitian graduate candidates, like "graduates from [prioritized] foreign countries, will be entitled to the subsistence allowance of $500 per week to follow the refresher training", an upgrade prescribed by the OIIQ.

According to the Haitian nurses interviewed by La Presse, th inclusion in the program is important in that it allows candidates to settle here accompanied by their immediate family, with their children and their spouse, who receives an open work permit.

PI/ iciHaiti