For doctors interested to come to Canada

Please read this article by Susan Delacourt, healthzone.ca

Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA – Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is accusing physicians' organizations in the provinces of dragging their feet in the effort to speed up recognition of foreign-trained doctors.

Kenney told reporters today that the foot-dragging has a cost to Canada.

"It's no secret that a lot of foreign-trained medical professionals have significant hurdles in getting their credentials recognized," he said. "It's a huge opportunity cost that's lost to us, to encourage foreign-trained medical doctors to come to Canada and have them end up cleaning hotel rooms."

On Monday, Ottawa and the provinces announced a major new deal to speed up foreign-credential recognition for eight professions, including architects and engineers – but not doctors, at least not yet. Physicians won't be coming on board until 2012 with the new "framework," as it's called.

In his testimony to the Commons immigration committee this morning, Kenney said that the physicians' organizations are frustrating his government's efforts speed up the process of recognizing training and education gained abroad.

"There are some of the major professional agencies, let's make no bones about this, who are less willing to collaborate, less willing to streamline the process and cut the red tape," Kenney said.

"Some of them appear to be acting in a way to keep closed labour markets and to keep closed the doors of opportunity for foreign-trained professions, and that is a shame."