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Doctors struggle for accreditation
Although many Canadians list health care
and doctor shortages as top concerns, foreign-trained
doctors and other health professionals complain that they
can't work in the country.
There may be as many as 10,000
international medical graduates in Canada - mostly from
Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe - yet many have
been unable to land residencies or training that leads to
jobs.
The process to have international medical
credentials recognized is long and arduous. Foreign doctors
must first pass the Medical Council of Canada's examination
of basic medical knowledge. Then they take certification
exams by the College of Family Physicians of Canada or the
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. In most
provinces, graduates of foreign medical schools must take
two to six years of postgraduate medical training at a
Canadian university. In 2002, only 16.7 per cent of foreign
medical graduates got into the training, according to
statistics from the Canadian Information Centre for
International Credentials. Only 83 of them landed one of the
1,260 internships available to medical postgraduates.
To address the problem, the federal
government is negotiating with professional associations to
try to speed up the accreditation of foreign doctors.
Critics also want Ottawa to create national standards for
accreditation, and pump more money into upgrading the skills
of these professionals.
In March 2004, Health Canada pledged $4
million to establish a national program. The funds includes:
$179,000 over three years to the Medical Council of
Canada to identify and promote common screening
criteria.
$150,000 to the Medical Council of Canada to develop
evaluation tools.
$112,000 to the Association of International Physicians
and Surgeons of Ontario to develop a website for
international medical graduates.
$125,000 to fund the Medical Council of Canada's
development of an on-line
self-assessment test.
$3 million to help provinces and territories assess
unlicensed medical graduates living in Canada.
The amount drew immediate ire from the Canadian Medical
Association, which said it was far too little money and
wouldn't do much to help foreign doctors already living
in Canada.
Canada gave permanent resident status to
3,965 family doctors, physician specialists and health
managers from 1990 to 1998.
Countries compete fiercely for IT
workers
International competition for information
technology workers has been strong during the last decade.
The United States and many countries in
the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) launched programs to attract IT workers, including
computer engineers, computer programmers, systems analysts,
and electrical and electronics engineers.
One of Ottawa's main programs to bring
them to Canada falls under its Innovation Strategy, launched
in 2002 to boost research and innovation. Among its goals,
it aims to lure foreign IT and other skilled workers by:
Boosting the number of highly skilled workers
immigrating permanently to Canada.
Working with provinces and territories to develop a
national approach to the recognition of
foreign
credentials.
Encouraging business to more actively recruit qualified
immigrants.
Almost three per cent of total employment in Canada -
387,500 jobs - was in IT-related occupations, the 2001
census showed. Statistics Canada says that about 15 per
cent of these workers, more than 60,000, immigrated to
Canada in the 1990s. They came mostly from Asia and
Europe.
Construction boom worsens trades
shortage
Construction boomed in Canada during the
last few years, worsening a long-standing shortage of
workers in certain trades. The industry has historically
depended on immigrants, especially from Portugal, Italy and,
more recently, Poland.
Between 1990 and 1998, 17,995 people came
to Canada to work in the trades. But the demand for more
bricklayers, cabinetmakers, welders, plumbers and others
remains strong.
An industry lobby group in Toronto, for
example, urged the federal government in November 2003 to
legalize underground workers. The Greater Toronto
Homebuilders Association wanted legal status granted to
thousands of illegal immigrants who work in the city's
construction industry, yet lack medical coverage and other
social benefits and live in perpetual fear of being
deported.
Immigration changes favour skilled
workers
When the federal government introduced new immigration to
Canada laws in 2002, it made a number of changes that made
it easier for skilled workers to come to Canada.
The Immigration and Refugee Protection
Act places increased stress on education, language ability
and skilled work experience. It made it easier for people
with a trade certificate or a second degree, and for highly
educated younger workers to qualify.
Skilled workers, under the new act:
Fall under the economic class of immigrants, which also
includes entrepreneurs, investors
and the
self-employed.
Have professional or technical abilities that are highly
sought after or transferable.
Sometimes they
already have job offers from a Canadian company.
Must meet criteria that give points for education levels,
official languages ability and
occupational skills.
They need at least a year of related full-time, paid
experience and
enough money to support themselves
in Canada.
Statistics Canada shows that two-thirds
of IT workers came under this class, compared with one-third
of doctors and health managers, and only a fifth of trades
workers.
Other skilled workers immigrated under the refugee,
family or other classes.
Provinces try to fast-track foreign
professionals
Most provincial and territorial
governments have signed immigration deals with Ottawa to
fast track the citizenship applications of skilled workers.
Under the Provincial Nominee Program,
provinces and territories may nominate a person for a
permanent resident visa on the grounds that the individual's
skills are in particular demand there.
These immigrants are expected to live in
the province that nominated them in order to contribute
their particular employment skills.
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