Acts & Legislation
RNANT/NU was created by and operates in accordance with provisions of the Nursing Profession Act of the NWT and the Nursing Profession Act of Nunavut, both of which were proclaimed January 1, 2004.
A Brief History of Legislation Changes
In June, 2002 the Legislative Assembly of the NWT approved Bill 8: an Act to Amend the Nursing Profession Act and the Pharmacy Act. Provisions of this amendment allowed for establishment of a separate register for Nurse Practitioners, and provided for registration of Nurse Practitioners who are parties to Collaborative Practice Agreements. These were considered interim measures, and now have been superseded by provisions of the new Act.
In 2003, the NWT Nursing Profession Act was rewritten, in accordance with the GNWT’s Action Plan. The NWTRNA Legislation Committee prepared for several years, and had a wish-list of needed improvements. The committee worked closely with the government throughout the drafting of the new Act over and are satisfied that those concerns have been addressed.
The new Act, Bill 12, passed 1st and 2nd reading in the NWT Legislative Assembly in March, and 3rd and final reading in June, 2003. NWTRNA petitioned the government to delay putting the bill into effect until January 1, 2004, to be consistent with our membership year, and to allow time to write and approve new Bylaws, and review Association policies in light of the new Act.
An amendment to the Nunavut Nursing Profession was passed on November 5, 2003 and also came into force on January 1, 2004, to coincide with the proclamation of NWT Bill 12.
2023 – The work towards the amendments to the Nursing Profession Act continues. Licensed Practical Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses in the NWT or Nunavut will be granted self-regulation by their respective governments through the Registered Nurses Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. There are provisions for Registered Nurse Authorized Prescribers (RN-AP) and Registered Psychiatric Authorized Prescribers (RPN-AP) and the development of the RN Authorized Prescriber requirements.