Faculties prioritize training foreigners over training Canadians.

CAPER has released a report comparing the increase in resident physician positions Pre (2019/2020) and Post COVID (2020/2021).

YearOverYear_Compare_EN.pdf (caper.ca)

The number of Canadian citizens and permanent resident physician positions was up by 0.7%.

The number of visa trainees* was up 9.2%.

However, the CaRMS Forum data PowerPoint Presentation (carms.ca), slide 19 demonstrates that in 2021/2022 the number of residency positions for Canadian citizens and permanent residents has dropped.

CMG (Canadians who are graduates of Canadian and American medical schools ) first year positions are down from 3072 to 3043.

IMG (Canadian citizens and permanent residents who are graduates of international medical schools) first year positions are down from 325 to 322.

Although much has been said about the need for diversity and racial equity, the number of residency positions for Canadians who are international medical graduates has consistently fallen since 2013 across Canada.  There are 26 fewer IMG positions in 2021 than there were in  2013.

*Visa trainees are medical graduates who are sponsored by oil rich Gulf States (primarily Saudi Arabia) and ultra rich oil companies from countries which invest heavily in real estate , pharma, manufacturing, energy and other Canadian industry.  For example, Saudi Arabia’s ARAMCO  is the 5th largest public company (by revenue) in the world.  Each year it buys many residency positions from Faculties of Medicine across Canada to train their own doctors while Canadian international medical graduates cannot be licensed because they cannot access these entry level jobs DESPITE having met the Canadians standard of medical education.

The most fundamental principle of nationhood, “Canadian jobs and training for Canadians first” is enshrined in the Canadian Immigration Act.  But an application on July 31, 2019 to the Canadian authorities to stop issuing visas to medical graduates from oil rich oil states sits ignored while 5 million Canadians are without family doctors and languish on long waiting lists to see specialists and Canadians with medical degrees are unable to access residency training which is a pre-requisite for licensure.

In summary, while Canadians face a physician shortage, Faculties of Medicine are using limited training resources to train foreigners who are obligated to leave the country when they finish training.  The federal government which pays lip service to the need to get Canadians doctors is playing a fundamental role in failing to do what it has authority to do to address the physician shortage by authorizing visa trainees to take residency training positions away from Canadians.  The federal government is supporting the provincial government policies which create barriers which prevent Canadians who are international medical graduates who have met the Canadian standard of medical education from becoming licensed.

Since 1991, provincial governments have operated on the Barer-Stoddart economic principle: to control health care spending, the government should control the public’s access to health care by controlling the number of physicians.  In other words, Canada practices health care rationing by rationing access to entry level training jobs, and hence licensing, for Canadians.