Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - January 2010
Despite Canada’s recent developments in foreign credential recognition, many foreign-trained medical professionals are still trying to navigate Canada’s complex reaccreditation process. The amount of information and resources can be overwhelming, as many advocate groups offer different services to assist newcomers.
To help, Dr. David Wonham has set up the International Health Professionals Steering Committee, which acts as an umbrella for several local Windsor non-profit organizations aiming to help immigrants to practice in their chosen field of medicine.
The Committee assists in various ranges of resettlement, from language skills to Canadian medical ethics. It works in conjunction with various agencies and organizations in and around Windsor, including multicultural centres, hospitals and the local YMCA.
"One of the problems we are finding is that when people come to Canada, immigrate to Canada, they are given a large number of points based on their experiences and qualifications, and the federal government, which is in charge of immigration, gives these people a rather false hope that there will be jobs almost immediately available based on their qualifications and experience," said Wonham.
The reality is that arriving in Canada is only one small part of the journey for these foreign medical professionals. Though the federal government may have say over who is coming to Canada, it is the provincial governments who have jurisdiction over medical practices. Wonham argues that the provinces have done little to expedite the process.
"One gets the feeling that it's cheaper for them [the provinces] to complain about shortages rather than deal financially with the situation of helping them to train and get into the system and paying them after for their services."
The federal and provincial governments are currently working toward improving Canada’s foreign credential recognition programs, and have recently announced new deadlines for a streamlined process that will see certain professionals, many of them medical, waiting no more than one year to gain accreditation.
Source: The Windsor Star
