Nunavut's Health and Social Services Department is struggling to find health workers to fill numerous job vacancies, MLAs in the legislative assembly learned Monday.

Alex Campbell, deputy health and social services minister, ran through a list of senior positions, including a director of health services at the Iqaluit hospital, that his department has been trying to fill.

The vacancies account for about a third of the positions in the department.

While Campbell said an ad campaign is in works, he did not hide the fact that Nunavut is struggling to find health professionals because of an overall shortage across Canada.

"It's a global issue," Campbell told the assembly on Monday.

"There are a number of challenges in trying to recruit and retain health professionals, and particularly in the nurses sector, we do have that great need."

Iqaluit Centre MLA Hunter Tootoo said he recently saw advertisements for seven senior management staff positions in the department, and he worried about the impact those vacancies are having on current employees.

"Two executive directors, three directors — four directors, actually — and an assistant deputy minister that were advertised. I would think that that's probably almost all your senior management," Tootoo said.

"I imagine what a strain it's been on the few people who are still left there."

Campbell said a couple of the senior positions have now been filled, and the rest are being advertised. Some of those jobs were not advertised while the department underwent restructuring, he added.

But Cambridge Bay MLA Keith Peterson warned the situation may worsen, as more job opportunities emerge in the southern provinces.

"I'm aware that in Alberta, they're recruiting for a heart hospital down there [and] looking for 600 nurses," Peterson said.

"I anticipate that there'll be a few Nunavut nurses that'll be applying on jobs down there."

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said her department will look at the job descriptions and benefits offered in other jurisdictions to see how the territory can be more competitive.

She added that something new is in the works for Nunavut's nurses, but she could not get into details because contract negotiations with those workers are underway.