SOCASMA

Sample Petition for Voters in Swing Ridings for 2019 Election

October 7, 2019 7:10 pm Comments Off

SAMPLE PETITION

To Member of Parliament candidates of [name of riding]

I will be voting in the next election.

I believe all Canadians deserve to have access to a family doctor and to see specialists in a reasonable time. Long waiting lists are hurting Canadians.

I support the federal government funding more residency training for doctors, and that the funding be transferred to provinces with a requirement that it be used to create more residency positions for all qualified Canadians doctors educated either in Canada or abroad.

The federal government must also reinstate the requirement for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for all foreign visa applications for doctors pursuing residency training. The LMIA requires employers to prove that there is no Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is able and willing to take the residency training job and that Canadian interests will not be negatively affected before a visa can be issued to a foreigner. Currently foreign countries, including Saudi Arabia, have over 1,000 of their citizens training in Canadian hospitals taking jobs that could be filled by Canadians. After training, these individuals return to their home country, and do not help alleviate the doctor shortage in Canada. The current policy favours profit and foreign interests over what is best for Canadians. Scarce medical training resources must be used to train Canadian doctors who will serve the Canadian public.

Name	Address	Signature

Sample letter to send to candidates in 2019 election

6:58 pm Comments Off

“To Member of Parliament candidates of [name of riding]

I will be voting in the next election.

I believe all Canadians deserve to have access to a family doctor and to see specialists in a reasonable time. Long waiting lists are hurting Canadians.

I support the federal government funding more residency training for doctors, and that the funding be transferred to provinces with a requirement that it be used to create more residency positions for all qualified Canadians doctors educated either in Canada or abroad.
The federal government must also reinstate the requirement for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for all foreign visa applications for doctors pursuing residency training. The LMIA requires employers to prove that there is no Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is able and willing to take the residency training job and that Canadian interests will not be negatively affected before a visa can be issued to a foreigner. Currently foreign countries, including Saudi Arabia, have over 1,000 of their citizens training in Canadian hospitals taking jobs that could be filled by Canadians. After training, these individuals return to their home country, and do not help alleviate the doctor shortage in Canada. The current policy favours profit and foreign interests over what is best for Canadians. Scarce medical training resources must be used to train Canadian doctors who will serve the Canadian public.

________________________________

Name:

Address:”

How to Deliver this letter

It is most effective to drop your letter off at the campaign office of the candidate. Second most effective is mailing. Third most effective is emailing.

Personalizing the letter also makes it more effective.

You can find the candidates in your riding:

> Go to elections.ca

> English

> Enter postal code on Rt side

4th blue box for who are candidates in my electoral district

Email addresses are not posted for all the candidates, but if you have decided to email, the Canadian Medicine Association (CMA) has created a box for your message which will send your message to all the candidates in your riding.

https://healthadvocates.cma.ca/action/email-your-candidates?fbclid=IwAR1_cgrZIufVVimERsh9mq4oXIdlC-MWtd-ihHJSWFyUjL9w-xCgxrniFsA

Like us, CMA is lobbying for more residency positions. They are asking for other things as well. We advise you to cut down and focus the issues to the two issues above as shorter is often better. So delete the CMA text and replace with your own. Then hit send.

ACTION REQUIRED in Federal Election. Demand more residency positions. Demand access to healthcare for Canadians.

October 5, 2019 4:55 pm Comments Off

OCTOBER 21, 2019 FEDERAL ELECTION. ACTION REQUIRED.

We write seeking your help. To address the physician and waiting list shortage, a number of the political parties have promised funding to hire more doctors and to shorten waiting lists. Our goal is to press the government to direct these funds to residency training positions for Canadian citizens and permanent residents and to have all residency training positions reserved for Canadians.

Please write the candidates in your riding stressing the importance of training more Canadians rather than training and recruiting foreigners. Encourage your friends and relatives to do the same.

The MESSAGE is:

hire more physicians by funding residency training positions for Canadians.
stop using our scarce training resources to train foreigners. The federal government must reinstate a requirement for a Labour Market Impact Assessment for all foreign visa applications for doctors pursuing residency training, which requires their employer prove that there is no Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is able and willing to take the job before issuing a work visa to a foreigner.

The RATIONALE is:

Directing funding to more residency training positions is an immediate and cost-effective solution. We don’t need to recruit more doctors from foreign countries; and taxpayers don’t need to fund expensive new medical school places and wait over 6 years for their new doctors. Canadian citizens and permanent resident medical graduates who studied medicine abroad, passed all required exams of the Medical Council of Canada, and applied for residency training in Canada can begin working as resident physicians immediately and will be fully licensed in as little as two years.

The government under the Immigration Act has an obligation to put the interest of Canadians first: Jobs for Canadians first; training resources for Canadians first. The Immigration Act’s objective is to ensure this happens by requiring a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) which requires that an employer proves that there is no Canadian citizen or permanent resident able and willing to take the job and that Canadian interests will not be negatively impacted before the government issues a work visa to a foreigner. But in 2010, universities convinced the government to exempt residency training jobs from this requirement for their profit. As a result, we cannot train enough Canadians to meet the physician needs of Canadians who struggle to find a family doctor and sit on long-waiting. The government must begin enforcing the objective of “Canadians first” set out in the Immigration Act by reinstating the LMIA requirement for residency positions so residency jobs can be protected for Canadians who are citizens or permanent residents.

HOW DO WE INFLUENCE GOVERNMENT POLICY to make these changes?

At the very least, we must make the request that these promised funds be used for residency training positions for Canadians and that the LMIA exemption for residency jobs be revoked. Please take an hour of your time to write the candidates in your riding stressing the importance of training more Canadians rather than training and recruiting foreigners. Encourage your friends and relatives to do the same.

However, with more effort we can increase substantially the chances of success by being strategic and using the tactics used by political party campaign managers to our advantage. To get the most out of our work and to substantially increase our chance of success, we need to adopt the SWING RIDING STRATEGY.

We have received political advice from a political advisor and past cabinet minister in terms of how policy is formed during the election and how we can change policy:

a. Campaign managers who determine policy during the election are focused primarily on the undecided voter in swing ridings.

b. Some ridings will vote for a specific party no matter what so campaign strategies pay little attention to these ridings. It is the swing ridings where political parties direct their attention because it is these ridings which determine which party will form government.

c. Campaign managers determine policy on the basis of undecided voters in swing ridings. This is so because if you have decided who you are going to vote for, you are already in the bag or lost to the Party so you are of little interest in the strategy of the party which is only interested in being elected at this time. Election campaign strategy from the parties point of view is about giving the undecided voters in swing ridings what they want to get their vote. You have to be an “undecided voter” who exercises power by telling candidates the promises you require to get your vote.)

What can you do? You can work the SWING RIDING Strategy whether or not you are in a swing riding?

If you are in a swing riding contact all the candidates in your riding (phone, write, or best of all go in) and tell the candidates: You have not decided who you will be voting fo the party which
1. agrees to channel the funding it promised to address the doctor shortage and long waiting lists into residency training positions for Canadians; and
2. revokes the LMIA exemption for medical residency jobs, i.e., stops allowing foreigners (primarily Saudi Arabians) to use up scarce and valuable training resources for the profit of the universities to the detriment of Canadians and starts requiring that all employers seeking to obtain a working visa for foreigners to work as resident physicians prove (as required by the Immigration and Refugee Act of Canada) that there is no Canadian citizen or permanent resident able and willing to take the job before being granted such a visa.

2. Encourage people in your riding to do the same by phoning or door knocking.

3. If you do not live in a swing riding, of if you do and are prepared to work harder to make this strategy work.

1. Go door to door with letters or a Petition for signature in a Swing Riding near you. You will need to collect the name, address, and signature of the person who supports us in the need to fund more residency positions and revoke the LMIA exemption so that Canadians are no longer displaced by foreigners when it comes to medical residency training jobs.

1. The letter or Petition should say something along the lines of:

“To Member of Parliament candidates of [name of riding]

I will be voting in the next election.

I believe all Canadians deserve to have access to a family doctor and to see specialists in a reasonable time. Long waiting lists are hurting Canadians.

The federal government must also reinstate a requirement for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for all foreign visa applications for doctors pursuing residency training. The LMIA requires employers to prove that there is no Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is able and willing to take the residency training job before a visa can be issued to a foreigner. Currently foreign countries, including Saudi Arabia, have over 1,000 of their citizens training in Canadian hospitals taking jobs that could be filled by Canadians. After training, these individuals return to their home country, and do not help alleviate the doctor shortage in Canada. The current policy favours profit and foreign interests over what is best for Canadians.

Scarce medical training resources must be prioritized for training Canadian doctors who will serve Canadians.

Your Name

Your Address

Your Signature”

If you are in Canada this month, you don’t even need anybody to help you. You don’t need to live in the riding. Draft up this petition or something similar or draft letters for those in swing ridings to sign. Do some phoning and/or door knocking in a swing riding near you for an afternoon. Doesn’t everyone want to be able to get to a doctor, shorten waiting lists, and have a “Canadians first” predisposition?

Encourage the people in swing ridings to give their candidates a call or go visit them. Leave the numbers and addresses of the candidates in the riding so they are more likely to make the call or set up a visit.

WHERE ARE THE SWING RIDINGS? The swing ridings are posted right here on this website.

The REALITY is: That most of us do nothing. If we do nothing, we will not get more residency positions and the physician shortage and long waiting lists will continue. Please do something. It will change people’s lives.

Electives: Canadian universities restrict 8 weeks of electives in the same specialty

5:32 am Comments Off

Graduating class of 2021 and future are no longer allowed by Canadian universities to take more than 8 weeks electives in a particular specialty. See:

https://afmc.ca/news/2019-03-25

Posted October 4, 2019

Swing Ridings for the Federal Election

October 2, 2019 8:18 pm Comments Off

SWING RIDINGS IN 2015 CANADIAN ELECTIONS.

70 ridings won by 5% or less in 2015

Riding, MP (margin of win %)

Newfoundland

St. John’s East, N.L., Liberal MP Nick Whalen (1.4%)

New Brunswick

Fundy Royal, N.B., Liberal MP Alaina Lockhart (3.8%)

Quebec

Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou, Que., NDP MP Romeo Saganash (4.9%)

Beloeil-Chambly, Que., NDP MP Matthew Dubé (1.7%)

Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, Que., Liberal MP Denis Lemieux (1.4%)

Drummond, Que., NDP MP Francois Choquette (3.9%)

Hochelaga, Que., NDP MP Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet (1.0%)

Jonquière, Que., NDP MP Karine Trudel (0.7%)

La Pointe-de-l’Île, Que., Bloc MP Mario Beaulieu (5.0%)

Lac-Saint Jean, Que., Conservative MP Denis Lebel (4.8)

Laurentides-Labelle, Que., Liberal MP David Graham (2.4)

Longueuil-Saint-Hubert, Que., NDP MP Pierre Nantel (1.2)

Mirabel, Que., Bloc MP Simon Marcil (1.4)

Montarville, Que., Liberal MP Michel Picard (4.1)

Montmagny-L’Islet-Kamouraska-Riviere-du-Loup, Que., Conservative MP Bernard Généroux (0.6)

Pierre-Boucher-Les Patriotes-Vercheres, Que., Bloc MP Xavier Barsalou-Duval (0.4)

Québec, Que., Liberal MP Jean-Yves Duclos (1.9)

Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, Que., Liberal MP Linda Lapointe (2.9)

Riviere-du-Nord, Que., Bloc MP Rhéal Fortin (1.9)

Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot, Que., NDP MP Brigitte Sansoucy (1.1)

Saint-Jean, Que., Liberal MP Jean Rioux (4.1)

Salaberry-Suroit, Que., NDP MP Anne Quach (1.3)

Terrebonne, Que., Bloc MP Michel Boudrias (5.0)

Trois-Rivières, Que., NDP MP Robert Aubin (1.6)

Ontario

Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill, Ont., Liberal MP Leona Alleslev (2.1)

Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte, Ont., Conservative MP Alex Nuttall (0.2)

Burlington, Ont., Liberal MP Karina Gould (3.5)

Cambridge, Ont., Liberal MP Bryan May (4.5)

Carleton, Ont., Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre (3.1)

Flamborough-Glanbrook, Ont., Conservative MP David Sweet (4.3)

Hamilton Mountain, Ont., NDP MP Scott Duvall (2.4)

Chatham-Kent-Leamington, Ont., Conservative MP Dave Van Kesteren (4.5)

Davenport, Ont. Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz (2.9)

Hastings-Lennonx and Addington, Ont., Liberal MP Mike Bossio (0.5)

Kenora, Ont., Liberal MP Bob Nault (1.6)

King-Vaughan, Ont., Liberal MP Deb Schulte (3.2)

Kitchener-Conestoga, Ont., Conservative MP Harold Albrecht (0.5)

Milton, Ont., Conservative MP Lisa Raitt (4.9)

Newmarket-Aurora, Ont., Liberal MP Kyle Peterson (2.6)

Niagara Centre, Ont., Liberal MP Vance Badawey (4.2)

Nickel Belt, Ont., Liberal MP Marc Serré (5.0)

Northumberland-Peterborough South, Ont., Liberal MP Kim Rudd (3.0)

Oakville North-Burlington, Ont., Liberal MP Pam Damoff (3.4)

Ottawa Centre, Ont., Liberal MP Catherine McKenna (4.1)

Parkdale-High Park, Ont., Liberal MP Arif Virani (1.8)

Parry Sound-Muskoka, Ont., Conservative MP Tony Clement (4.4)

Richmond Hill, Ont., Liberal MP Majid Jowhari (3.6)

Simcoe North, Ont., Conservative MP Bruce Stanton (3.7)

Toronto-Danforth, Ont., Liberal MP Julie Dabrusin (2.2)

Vaughan-Woodbridge, Ont., Liberal MP Francesco Sorbara (4.9)

Whitby, Ont., Liberal MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes (2.9)

York Centre, Ont., Liberal MP Michael Levitt (2.9)

Manitoba

Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, Man., NDP MP Niki Ashton (3.0)

Elmwood-Transcona, Man., NDP Daniel Blaikie (0.1)

Kildonan-St. Paul, Man., Liberal MP MaryAnn Mihychuk (2.8)

Saskatchewan

Desenthé-Missinippi-Churchill River, Sask., NDP MP Georgina Jolibois (0.3)

Regina-Lewvan, Sask., NDP MP Erin Weir (0.3)

Alberta

Calgary Centre, Alta., Liberal MP Kent Hehr (1.2)

Calgary Confederation, Alta., Conservative MP Len Webber (2.4)

Edmonton Centre, Alta., Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault (2.2)

Edmonton Mill Woods, Alta., Liberal MP Amarjeet Sohi (0.2)

British Columbia

Burnaby South, B.C., NDP MP Kennedy Stewart (1.2)

Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola, B.C., Conservative MP Dan Albas (2.4)

Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam, B.C., Liberal MP Ron McKinnon (3.3)

Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo, B.C., Conservative MP Cathy McLeod (4.5)

Kootenay-Columbia, B.C., NDP MP Wayne Stetski (0.4)

Mission –Matsqui-Fraser Canyon, B.C., Liberal MP Jati Sidhu (2.3)

Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge, B.C., Liberal MP Dan Ruimy (2.5)

Richmond Centre, B.C., Conservative MP Alice Wong (2.8)

South Surrey-White Rock, B.C., Conservative MP Dianne Lynn Watts (2.5)

Important Information Meeting in Toronto for CSAs and their Families

June 19, 2019 12:55 pm Comments Off

Important meeting for CSAs and their families. Please make an effort to attend. Encourage everyone you know who is concerned about CSAs getting into residency training. Video conference available for members of Private Facebook Group for CSAs and their Families Only.

Date: June 24, 2019

Time: 6:30 P.M.

Place: St. Michael’s College School Lecture Hall (enter building through Centre for the Arts)

at 1515 Bathurst St., Toronto, Ontario

Please RSVP your attendance to: info@medicalworldcanada.ca or socasma@outlook.com with your name, school, country of study and year of graduation together with any questions or requests.

Barriers have increased since last year. We will be discussing the current system of access to residency and what we are doing to make it fair and accountable. We will talk about what CSAs can to do improve their chances of matching. We will answer questions. Discussion will include the legal challenge filed in British Columbia.

MEDICAL STUDENTS—PLEASE POST THIS AT YOUR SCHOOL AND FORWARD IT TO YOUR CANADIAN CLASSMATES AND ASK THEM TO DO THE SAME.

PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP FOR CSAs AND THEIR FAMILIES ONLY. The meeting can be attended by video conference by those who cannot attend the meeting in Toronto in person if you are part of the Private Facebook Group for CSAs and their Families Only. Instructions on how to join the meeting via video conference are posted on the Private Facebook Group Page. To join the Private Facebook Group Page:

Request to join the group;
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cdnssma/
Answer the question asking for your email;
You will be sent an application/agreement;
Fill it out and return it.

Private Facebook Page for CSAs and their Families

12:38 pm Comments Off

To encourage more open communication for CSAs and better networking, a Private Facebook Group for CSAs has been established. The eligibility requirements are that you must be a CSA or a family member/significant other of a CSA.

To join:

Request to join the group;
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cdnssma/
Answer the question asking for your email;
You will be sent an application/agreement;
Fill it out and return it.

Meeting for CSAs and their Families in Toronto.

June 4, 2019 1:20 am Comments Off

Date: June 24, 2019

Time: 6:30 P.M.

Place: St. Michael’s College School Lecture Hall (enter building through Centre for the Arts)

at 1515 Bathurst St., Toronto, Ontario

Please RSVP your attendance to: info@medicalworldcanada.ca or socasma@outlook.com with your name, school, country of study and year of graduation together with any questions or requests.

MEDICAL STUDENTS—PLEASE POST THIS AT YOUR SCHOOL AND FORWARD IT TO YOUR CANADIAN CLASSMATES AND ASK THEM TO DO THE SAME.

Request to join the group;
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cdnssma/
Answer the question asking for your email;
You will be sent an application/agreement;
Fill it out and return it.

Information Meeting for CSAs

December 11, 2018 6:04 am Comments Off

December Information Meeting for CSAs.

Date: December 30, 2018

Time: 3-5 pm

Place: West Point Grey United Church

4595 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver, BC

We will be providing information about the challenges that CSAs face and strategies that should be considered. CSAs who have navigated the system will be there to answer questions.

For those who are not in the Vancouver area, you can join by audio conference call.

So please confirm if you plan to attend in person or by conference call? Email us at socasma@outlook.com or message us and we will send you the audio conference call number and password. Please provide your name, school, country of study, and anticipated year of graduation.

Exams. MCCQE1: TIMING FOR 2020 GRADS, from MCC

November 12, 2018 5:22 am Comments Off

Letter received from Medical Council of Canada

Dear SOCASMA

“Please note that we are actively working with Postgraduate Medical Education Deans and residency program directors across the country to update the exam requirements for the 2020 Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) R-1 Main Residency Match. Candidates should contact CaRMS directly regarding the participation requirements for the R-1 Match.

The latest they can take the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination (MCCQE) Part I to meet the application deadline would be the July or September 2019 session.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Regards, Stephanie Roy Team Leader, Communications / Chef d’équipe des communications

MEDICAL COUNCIL OF CANADA / LE CONSEIL MÉDICAL DU CANADA Tel. / Tél. : (613) 521 – 6012 ext. / poste 2373

mcc.ca”

communications@mcc.ca

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