The federal government announced Wednesday it will use Canada’s immigration system to recruit more in-demand health-care workers as the country grapples with a severe shortage of some professionals in the field, such as family doctors.
Speaking at an event in Bedford, N.S., Immigration Minister Sean Fraser and Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos unveiled a new dedicated “express entry” stream for health professionals in the economic immigration program.
They said a notice will soon go out to 500 foreign health workers inviting them to apply for permanent residency in Canada.
Another 1,500 workers will get an invitation next week — a staggered launch for a program that is expected to be well subscribed.
The invitations will go to foreign doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, physiotherapists and optometrists as part of a push by the federal government to deal with a health-care crisis that is, in large part, a staffing crisis.
The situation is dire. An estimated six million Canadians do not have a family doctor, according to research compiled by Angus Reid. Canada is short of specialists as well.
The physician shortage is expected to be even more acute in just five years’ time. Federal data suggests Canada will be short some 44,000 doctors, including over 30,000 family doctors and general practitioners, by 2028.
WATCH: Canada is losing out on hundreds of qualified doctors each year. Here’s why
Canada is losing out on hundreds of qualified doctors each year. Here’s why
5 months ago
Duration 2:07
Canada is losing out on hundreds of qualified Canadian doctors trained abroad who can’t practice because they find it difficult to get residencies here due to a combination of red tape and bias.
“Health professionals have been working around the clock to provide world-class care to individuals in communities across Canada, but it’s no secret that our health system needs more workers to continue delivering the quality care that people in Canada deserve,” Fraser said.
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced Wednesday a new dedicated health-care stream for the country’s economic immigration program — part of a push to double the number immigrants in the field. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
“In no sector is the labour shortage more prominent than in the health-care sector,” Duclos said.
“Today’s announcement will facilitate, fast-track and streamline permanent residency applications and help improve health workforce recruitment efforts by bringing more qualified health professionals into Canada.”
Fraser said that between 2017 and 2022, Canada welcomed around 21,000 health-care workers — a rate of just over 4,000 workers a year.
He said the goal now is to bring in around 8,000 new health-care workers a year.
“This is a big change,” Fraser said. “We can do more and with this new tool we’re going to do more. Health care is the number one concern for so many families.”
While the government is committed to bringing in more immigrant health-care workers, it’s not a cure-all for what ails the system.
The announcement Wednesday does not address ongoing issues with foreign credential recognition — something Ottawa also has vowed to address with the provinces and territories.
Medical licensing is strictly a provincial responsibility but the federal government has promised more money to help streamline a cumbersome process.
Foreign-trained doctors can immigrate to Canada — but that doesn’t mean they can actually work in their profession.
As CBC News has reported, there are Canadian-born doctors trained abroad who can’t come home to practise because of a tangle of red tape that makes it difficult to be licensed if you weren’t educated at a Canadian medical school.
The medical residency program is segregated, which makes it difficult for Canadian doctors who went to schools in countries like Australia, Ireland and the U.K. to come home and slide into the entry-level work required to be licensed.
And for doctors who already have gone through a residency and are working overseas, the months-long process to prove Canadian equivalency and get credentials verified acts as a serious deterrent.
To practice medicine in Canada, a foreign-trained doctor must have a degree from a recognized medical school, complete discipline-appropriate postgraduate training (a residency), write an exam and obtain a “licentiate” from the Medical Council of Canada and be certified through examination by either the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) or the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC).
The relevant provincial or territorial college of physicians and surgeons then decides whether a candidate should be licensed.
This is a years-long process and it’s costly for the medical professionals who engage in it.
“We will continue working with provinces, territories and stakeholders to address the health workers crisis by improving workforce planning, retention and the streamlining of foreign credential recognition so that new health professionals arriving in Canada can apply their skills and expertise faster,” Duclos said.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
