(Montreal) Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre wants to create a national exam standard for health care workers, to allow those who have completed their education abroad to work in Canada.
He made the announcement Sunday at a press conference in Ottawa.
This so-called “Blue Seal” standard would be inspired by the Red Seal exam, created in 1952. This allows workers in regulated trades ― electricians, plumbers, mechanics, etc. ― to see their skills recognized throughout the country.
Statistics Canada estimates, in a 2022 report, that only 36.5% of immigrants with a foreign degree in nursing and 41.1% with a medical degree practice their profession.
“We should determine the qualification of our doctors by examinations […] not through big bureaucratic processes,” Poilievre insisted, arguing that some immigrants can wait up to nine years before they can work in their field.
According to him, it would also harmonize the standards between the provinces and territories, so that a doctor or a nurse could practice from coast to coast.
“These are immigrants who are already here, they are young Canadians who have gone abroad to train,” or doctors who have simply moved from one province to another, he said. pleaded.
As health is a provincial jurisdiction, the Conservative leader promised that the adoption of the Blue Seal would be on a voluntary basis.
A Poilievre government will seek an agreement with the provinces where a professional trained abroad can receive an answer in 60 days [après avoir rempli l’examen].
Pierre Poilievre, Conservative Leader
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in 2021 Canada had about 2.8 doctors per 1000 inhabitants. This ratio put Canada 27e rank of OECD countries.
Health Index estimates that emergency rooms in Quebec were 95% full at 4 p.m. Sunday, with an average waiting time of 4 hours and 51 minutes in the room.
Mr. Poilievre places the blame for the current situation on the shoulders of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “After eight years of Justin Trudeau, our health care system is broken,” he said.
He cited surveys from the Fraser Institute, which estimated in 2015 that the median wait time between a referral from a GP and an appointment with a specialist was 18 weeks. By 2022, that number had risen to 27 weeks.
It should be noted, however, that the global COVID-19 pandemic, which hit Canada from 2020, undermined the health network and created an influx of patients in hospitals.
The office of Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos did not immediately respond to requests from The Canadian Press.