Liberals don’t track how many immigrant doctors work in healthcare
Both the Liberal immigration minister and the health minister admit that they don’t track how many medically trained doctors the Liberals bring into the country actually become doctors.
Both the Liberal immigration minister and the health minister admit that they don’t track how many medically trained doctors the Liberals bring into the country actually become doctors, despite lauding their own program for bringing healthcare professionals into Canada.
During a House of Commons health committee meeting on Tuesday, Conservative Health Critic Dan Mazier grilled Minister of Immigration Lena Diab and Minister of Health Marjorie Michel on the issue, but neither provided an answer.
Mazier asked the two how many of the 674 immigrant doctors Diab’s department approved through the Federal Skilled Workers Express Entry Program have become licensed practicing doctors in Canada; both Diab and Michel said they didn’t know.
Despite this, Diab said in her opening remarks that immigration plays a “vital” role in bringing skilled professionals into the healthcare system, and “strengthening care for Canadians.”
When asked whether the immigration minister considers Canada’s healthcare capacity when setting immigration targets, Diab said her department works with provincial and territorial governments “with respect to that.”
She said “everything is considered” before the federal government sets immigration targets.
When asked about the immigration department’s analysis of sustainable levels of immigration for Canada’s healthcare system, Diab laughed and said it wasn’t a “fair question” for immigration.
An official from the immigration department said they do not track what happens to the doctors they approve, because once someone is a permanent resident, they have all the rights and privileges of any other permanent resident. Diab noted that it was up to the health colleges and other credential-providing institutions to determine whether an individual brought in through a federal immigration stream actually can work in the country.
Healthcare groups have called on the federal government to help remove several barriers and costs that prevent over 80,000 foreign-trained Canadians from working in healthcare. Many of the obstacles are related to the credentialing process in Canada.
Other groups testified during health committees last month that there are over 13,000 internationally trained physicians in Canada who are unable to work.
Mazier asserted that she had just said they considered “everything,” but Diab deferred to provincial governments to provide her with that analysis. She also noted that immigration Canada does not conduct its own analysis before setting targets.
Michel said there were currently around 5.7 million Canadians without access to a family doctor, though other estimates from the Canada Health Association place the number at 6.5 million. Diab laughed off another question from Mazier when she was asked if all of the newcomers the federal government was admitting into the country would have a family doctor.
“Many that are arriving are doctors and physicians and clinicians and nurses and healthcare providers themselves, who are actually here to service Canadians,” Diab said, despite later admitting the government doesn’t track how many are actually able to work in Canada’s healthcare system.
Diab avoided another question on whether she was confident that Canada’s healthcare system could accommodate the federal government’s immigration targets; she repeated that Canada’s healthcare is “certainly” considered when setting targets. She also noted that one in four healthcare workers in Canada is an immigrant.
Mazier asserted that the government was bringing in more migrants and immigrants than the family doctor labour force in Canada could effectively care for, but Diab said the range of health and age of the newcomers varied and could not be easily calculated in numbers.
During the last several health committee meetings, numerous healthcare groups, professionals and organizations testified that the federal government has failed to consult with them about the impact of immigration on healthcare.