Internationally educated nurse wins appeal to work in Manitoba
A nurse who received her education in the Philippines and was later licenced to work in Ontario and Quebec has won an appeal to work in Manitoba, according to a notice of decision by the Council of the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba, reviewed by CTV News Winnipeg.
The decision requires the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba to register Ronna Sigua to work as a nurse in Manitoba, a decision her lawyer suggests could have impacts on other internationally educated nurses applying to work in Manitoba.
“Of course, Ms. Sigua is pleased she was successful in her appeal, but notes that for her this litigation has been time-consuming, stressful, expensive, and in her opinion, completely unnecessary” said Evan Edwards, Sigua’s lawyer, in an emailed statement. “Further, while the college was fighting this case, the province has been deprived of the much-needed services of a number of fully qualified registered nurses.”
Sigua first applied to the college for registration in 2013.
According to the decision, she was advised she would be required to complete a basic nursing education program and that she would require more education than what was available through the Bridge to Canadian Nursing Program or the Red River College RN Refresher Program.
Fast forward to March 2021. Sigua’s second application to the college was denied and she was told she would be required to undergo a Clinical Competence Assessment as part of the registration process, despite being registered to work in Quebec and also in Ontario where she was registered as a mobility applicant in 2020.
Sigua did not undergo the assessment and instead appealed the college’s decision, arguing she is entitled to be registered in Manitoba as a labour mobility applicant.
The college argued that because she was a previous applicant who was required to complete additional training, it was entitled to impose the requirements to assess and identify any gaps in her nursing practice and determine what, if any, additional education may be needed.
A panel of the Council of the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba sided with Sigua in a decision released on Aug. 11 on the basis that she’s certified to work in the province under a domestic trade agreement.
“It is the decision of the panel that these provisions apply to Ms. Sigua,” the panel wrote in the decision. “Therefore, we allow her appeal and direct that the CRNM (College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba) register Ms. Sigua as a registered nurse in Manitoba.”
The panel noted it received a compliance order under The Labour Mobility Act from Manitoba Health Minister Audrey Gordon dated July 26 only after it reached its decision on Sigua’s appeal. The order states, in part, that the college must not require applicants, who are in good standing as a registered nurse in another jurisdiction in Canada, to take the Clinical Competence Assessment to be registered as a nurse in Manitoba.
Edwards said the Labour Mobility Agreement is premised on provincial nursing colleges recognizing and respecting qualifications from other provinces.
“Accordingly, when nurses apply for registration as a nurse in a different province, they are not required to take lengthy assessments and exams testing competence,” Edwards said. “The legal arguments used by the college to justify their position were all rejected by the appeal panel in a unanimous decision which found those arguments to be both incorrect and unreasonable.”
While Gordon would not comment on individual cases, the Health Minister told CTV News in a statement she is looking forward to working with the CRNM, along with other nursing colleges and unions to facilitate the entry of internationally-educated nurses to practise in Manitoba in a safe and supportive way.
"The order we issued to the College opens the door to nurses who are registered in other Canadian provinces but have experienced difficulty being recognized here in Manitoba," Gordon said in the statement.
"We will leave no stone unturned in exploring options to fill nursing vacancies in Manitoba, including through programs like this IENs in Manitoba project, as well as recruitment process improvements, retention strategies, training spot increases and immigration efforts."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.