Thank you, Ms. Chair.
I'm a bit frustrated by the whole issue of physician shortages. In my riding there are 30,000 people without a family doctor. It tends to be one of the things I hear most at the door or at my office. One thing in particular that is a bit frustrating is that I know of eleven foreign doctors in my riding who seem to have similar challenges. So I'd like to delve a little bit more into a few of the comments mentioned today.
First, when people ask me about what we're doing, I obviously reference the foreign credential office, but it doesn't seem to be of significant benefit to people in this predicament. For the eleven doctors that I know of, the challenges relate directly to the fact that the cost of books ranges from $1,000 to $2,000, and they're making minimum wage and can barely afford the books. What, if anything, is being done to help with the process of going through that equivalency exam for new Canadians?
Secondly, the bigger challenge that foreign doctors appear to face in my riding is that they can't get a residency spot even after they've been successful in the equivalency exam.
Is there anything the foreign credential office does to assist in those two particular circumstances: with the cost of the books for the equivalency exam and the cost of the exam itself, and the next steps after they pass the equivalency exam?