A Lebanese neurologist hired in Bas-Saint-Laurent has been watching his savings dwindle for months, unable to start work due to the slowness of Immigration Canada (IRCC) in processing his work permit application.
The Dr Wissam Rizk has had his right to practice from the College of Physicians in his pocket since December 12, a permit he obtained after a three-month, unpaid evaluation internship, which was passed with flying colors.
He also initialed a contract with the CISSS du Bas-Saint-Laurent. As of tomorrow morning, he could and would like to lend a hand to his colleagues who have little respite from the magnitude of the task to be accomplished, the lengthening waiting times and the prevailing lack of resources.
However, the Dr Rizk waits. The Canadian Department of Immigration has had its permit application since November and since then, it has been radio silence, except for this status affixed to the digital file of the principal concerned: “Awaiting processing. »
“I just don’t understand, is surprised the DD Nao Bélanger, neurologist at the Rimouski hospital and future colleague of Dr.r Rizk. Wissam has a signed contract, he has his license number from the College of Physicians, he is physically in Rimouski, there is so much missing from his file that we even put him on the schedule! We had to turn everything upside down because he still hasn’t heard from Immigration Canada. »
Contacted by The dutythe Dr Wissam Rizk declined our interview request. “The last few weeks have been very trying for me, he explains, apologizing for not having the strength or the energy to expose his situation for the umpteenth time. This whole situation worries me a lot. You know, writing to deputies and talking to ministers, these are not steps that I am used to doing. »
The neurologist’s setbacks, first exposed by Radio-Canada, bounced back to the Quebec ministries of Immigration and Health, in addition to finding an echo to the ears of federal MPs Bernard Généreux and Maxime Blanchette-Joncas.
“Is it reasonable, questions the latter, that a citizen applying for a permit must absolutely contact deputies and ministers simply to obtain the right to work? The situation is completely inconceivable, protested the Bloc member for Rimouski-Neigette–Témiscouata–Les Basques. The worst, concludes Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, is that this is a normal delay for the Department of Immigration, which provides up to 168 days of processing. Five months ! »
A region in need of reinforcements
D’s helpr However, Wissam Rizk would not represent a luxury in eastern Quebec, where the specialized medical coverage plan provides for seven neurologists for the Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie. “Currently, we have four, explains the director of professional services of the CISSS du Bas-Saint-Laurent, Louis Prévost, including one who has been trying to retire since 2020 and who remains in the position part-time out of professional conscience. »
The Bas-Saint-Laurent is at the back of the pack when it comes to waiting times for obtaining specialized care. Noting a lack of succession, the regional CISSS is turning to the international community to relieve its lack of staff. In the case of D.r Wissam Rizk, the steps to ensure his arrival in Rimouski began in 2021.
“I have a candidate, it even took me four years, underlines Louis Prévost. International recruitment in Quebec is not a jungle, it is well organized, but it is a system that has its own deadlines. The final step is Immigration Canada. Sometimes it takes 10 days, other times several months. »
While waiting for Immigration Canada to grant the doctor his work permit, the four neurologists from Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie carry the health of a population stretching from La Pocatière to Percé on their shoulders.
“In 2020, there were five of us to provide custody. Today we are three, describes the DD Noa Belanger. This situation increases waiting times for patients: some follow-ups that I would like to do within three or four months sometimes have to wait a year. »
The neurologist points out that the accumulated delay in appointments, three years ago, varied between two and three months. “Today, it can take up to nine months,” she laments, incredulous that the reinforcement from abroad must undergo unnecessary stress and wait for months before obtaining the right to work.
“We want skilled labor and when we find it, we make it hang around, laments the DD Belanger. It’s very sad. »
Extended temporary license
The temporary residence permit of Dr Wissam Rizk ends March 15. “There is no question that he will have to return to his country after the deadline”, assures MP Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, who says he speaks “regularly” with the assistant to the Canadian Minister of Immigration, Sean Fraser, to unlock the folder.
By email, Immigration Canada confirms that “a foreign national already in Canada who applies for a work permit extension before their current permit expires […] retain their status […] until a decision is made on his new request”.
IRCC says it processed “about 756,000 work permits” in 2022, “compared to 215,000 in 2021.” The date the Dr Rizk will get his, however, remains unknown: the department explains that out of respect for privacy laws, it refuses to comment on specific cases.
I just don’t understand. Wissam has a signed contract, he has his license number from the College of Physicians, he is physically in Rimouski, there is so much missing from his file that we even put him on the schedule! Nao Belanger »