Political action required in Ontario to save access to American residency training

UPDATE:  September 10, 2018.  Since this call to action was made, CSAs and their families took action.  As a result of CSA action including engagement of political representatives, the restrictions on Statements of Needs have been removed.  There are no more limits on the number of Statements of Needs nor the disciplines in which a CSA can train.  The only restriction is that the residency training program must be ACGME approved and be recognized by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada  rcpsc.ca.

Published April 19, 2018

This is long but read it. IF CSAs WANT TO HAVE ACCESS TO AMERICAN RESIDENCY YOU MUST ALL ACT NOW ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE FROM ONTARIO WHERE THE ELECTION IS LOOMING. SOCASMA CANNOT do this for you. ONTARIO CSAs and their family have to act.

Some people believe that they cannot influence political policy. Sometimes this is true, especially in the middle of a term. But during an election, if we are wise, we can influence policy. Elections are often decided by a few seats. And in many ridings the determination of who wins the seat is a matter of just a few hundred votes. So people like you can influence an election and the policies that are pronounced during the election. Here is the how to:

a. Bring awareness of the issue to the candidates in your riding;

b. Target the “swing riding” candidates. There is no point in pressing a candidate in a riding which always goes with a particular party. I can assure you that the majority of their work and sometimes even their money will be directed to the swing ridings because that is where the vote is needed. See the post below where Carole has identified the swing ridings.
c. Be an “undecided” voter. If you have decided how you want to vote, nobody cares about what you want anymore especially during the election. It is the undecided voter that candidates recognize they must win over.

d. Build a case for why unlimited SONs are important to the public. The public does not care about you as much as it cares about itself. the fundamental truth is that Canada in general and Ontario in particular does not train enough doctors to provide enough doctors to keep the level of health care the same as it is now, let alone meet the increased needs of the baby boomers, let alone recognize that more and more doctors are women and more and more seek a balanced life no longer wanting to work 80 hours a week and more and more are seeking early retirement, not to mention that many are now reaching retirement age. We rank a distant and dismal last in timely delivery of health care. See:
https://www.cdhowe.org/…/Final%20for%20release%20e-brief_27…

People literally die on waiting lists and in emergency waiting rooms in Canada. It is going to get worse before it gets better. If you need more information to build the case as to why it is in the public’s interest to insist that Ontario endorses unlimited Statements of Needs, let us know. The case for unlimited endorsements is strong. One interesting fact is that Ontario is the driving force behind limiting Statements of Need. It has endorsed zero SONs in the past.

e. If you are not in a swing riding, after doing a letter to your candidates to familiarize them with the issue, you should go to the nearest swing riding and inform the people in that riding why it is vital to THEM that they contact their candidates or sign a Petition which says that Ontario must start endorsing unlimited Statements of Needs so that Canadians can train in the US. If you can get even 7 people to write letters in a swing riding, it will be of concern. If you can get 14 to write letters and if even a couple of people attend at the office of the candidate in the swing riding, it will go to the leader of the party and it will be raised with the policy strategists of the party. Target candidates in all the parties.

f. If you are in a swing riding, call on your friends and neighbours to write letters and attend on the candidates. Make this issue as loud and as big as you can.

g. Your message must be:

I AM AN UNDECIDED VOTER. I WILL VOTE FOR THE PARTY WHICH RECOGNIZES THAT Ontario’s WELFARE DEPENDS ON ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE. IF YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO TELL ME THAT YOU WILL MAKE CERTAIN THAT ONTARIO ENDORSES UNLIMITED STATEMENTS OF NEEDS IN SPECIALTIES AND SUBSPECIALITIES, I WILL NOT BE VOTING FOR YOU. MY VOTE GOES TO THE CANDIDATE WHO STOPS RESTRICTING ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE BY STOPPING CANADIANS FROM TRAINING AS DOCTORS. WHAT I AM ASKING FOR DOES NOT COST ONTARIO A CENT. CSAS HAVE PAID FOR THEIR EDUCATION. THE USA PAYS FOR THE TRAINING.

I know that you are in school and working your butts off right now. But just think about how it will feel or must have felt to have worked for 8 years, incurred tremendous debt, spent thousands of dollars interviewing, and to have victory snatched away by your government denying you a SON. Each and every CSA should be writing a letter–an individualized letter preferably–and telling those that love you at home to take an active role in this election. Do not squander this opportunity, please.

If you need support or information contact Carole socasma.working@gmail.com. Carole is in Ottawa, but she needs feet on the ground all over the province.

IF YOU DO NOTHING NEXT YEAR WE WILL BE FACING THE SAME DEVASTATION. AND NEXT YEAR IT IS UNLIKELY THAT THERE WILL BE TECHNICAL ISSUES THAT FORCE HEALTH CANADA TO ISSUE MORE SONs.