![](https://philcongencalgary.org/public/blogs/2024/01/ph-consul-general-saskatchewan-ministers-discuss-education-cooperation-and-welfare-of-filipino-nurses20240128065134.png)
Calgary, 8 July 2023 – At a
meeting held in Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan, on 29 June 2023, Philippine Consul General to Calgary Zaldy Patron and
Saskatchewan Minister
of Advanced Education Gordon Wyant and Minister of Health Paul Merriman discussed
the state of education cooperation between the Philippines and Saskatchewan,
and the welfare of the Filipino internationally educated nurses (IENs) in the
Prairie province.
Consul General Patron and
Minister Wyant noted the growing educational linkages and cooperation between
the Philippines and Saskatchewan.
Since 2018, the Philippine
Consulate General (PCG) in Calgary has had the success of connecting the
University of Saskatchewan with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED),
University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), and other Philippine state
universities.
These linkages eventually
resulted in the signing of two agreements involving the University of
Saskatchewan – one with a consortium of seven Philippine state universities
called Magic 7; the other with UPLB.
The PCG has also linked
up the University of Regina with CHED.
CHED and the
Saskatchewan Ministry of Advanced Education are also currently implementing a MOU
on Higher Education Cooperation that was signed in February 2022.
Meanwhile, Consul
General Patron and Minister Merriman discussed Saskatchewan’s ongoing program
to streamline the nursing bridging program for the Filipino IENs who are being recruited
from the Philippines.
The Saskatchewan
Government also has a bursary program for eligible Filipino IENs who are
already in Saskatchewan. The financial
grant can be used to pay for the fees related to their licensing and
certification application.
As early as February 2022,
Consul General Patron had sought Minister Merriman’s support for the easier
recognition of credentials of the Filipino IENs in Saskatchewan.
Consul General Patron
and Minister Merriman agreed to undertake joint activities to promote the
welfare of the Filipino IENs in Saskatchewan.