Health Committee on Nov. 18th, 2025

[Doug Eyolfson, Liberal, Winnipeg West, MB]

Minister Diab, please go ahead.

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Temporary foreign workers serve Canadians, and there is definitely a purpose for them and a reason for them.

Let me give you some stats. On September 30, 16,060 temporary workers had valid permits to work in various health care occupations. Some were under the temporary foreign worker program; others were under the IMP, which is the international mobility program. The top three under that program were specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine; nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates; and registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses.

We value their service and we thank them for that, and I know Canadians do, too.

[Doug Eyolfson, Liberal, Winnipeg West, MB]

Thank you.

Minister Michel, you were talking about the fund for training foreign credentialled health care workers to basically make sure that they are able to work in Canada. I just want to confirm that federal funding is a key part of this strategy.

[Marjorie Michel, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Yes, federal funding is a key part of this strategy, and we have to work with provinces and territories to make it happen.

Just to let you know, I've already spoken with the minister at ESDC—

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have 30 seconds.

[Marjorie Michel, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

—and also with my own counterparts. I told them to talk with their labour ministers so they can all work together to make it happen.

[Doug Eyolfson, Liberal, Winnipeg West, MB]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

I now go to the Bloc Québécois.

Ms. Larouche, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Thank you very much to both ministers for being with us today and answering our questions.

I've been listening to the discussions that have taken place since the start of the meeting and I've read a bit about what was done previously. What I understand is that the health care system needs resources. I may come back to this a little later, in the next round of questions, but there's one aspect that hasn't been sufficiently addressed so far, and that's the underfunding of the health care system. This underfunding means that our resources can't be paid adequately. I think this is definitely related to the study we are conducting. Yesterday, parliamentarians voted on the budget. One of the Bloc Québécois's requests was clear and made it possible to meet the needs of Quebec's and the provinces' health care systems. I'm talking about the request to increase the health transfer by $11.5 billion over five years. Unfortunately, our request was not accepted by the government.

That said, Ms. Diab, how do you guarantee that immigration thresholds respect Quebec's integration capacity in the areas of health, education and housing? My colleagues have already raised this issue, but I'd like you to tell us more about it, as it's important. How does your department do that analysis? I know that this is an area of shared jurisdiction, and that you are in discussions with your counterparts in Quebec.

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

That's a good question.

In Quebec, things work completely differently compared with the other provinces and territories. We respect the 1991 Canada-Quebec Accord. Quebec has the power to select all economic immigrants and refugees resettled in the province. All health care workers and all others with permanent resident status fall under the jurisdiction of the Province of Quebec.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

At the moment, processing times in Quebec are longer than in the rest of Canada. You said that things work differently in Quebec, in part because of this accord. Why are processing times longer in Quebec than in the rest of Canada?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Are you talking about processing times for immigration-related or health-related files?

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

I'm talking about immigration files in Quebec. Why are processing times longer in Quebec than in the rest of Canada?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Quebec, not the federal government, has the power to choose the number of people. Is my answer clear enough?

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

However, the processing times are longer. Even though this is a power that belongs to Quebec, certain things could be done differently. We'll have a chance to talk about that again.

Are you planning to give Quebec back some decision-making space when it comes to the number of health care professionals admitted to its territory?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

That decision belongs to Quebec, not the federal government.

Ms. Baird, do you want to add anything?

[Louise Baird]

Yes.

Because Quebec sets its own levels plan each year, and for the last several years it's been lower than what they would be allowed per their demographic weight under the accord, there is sort of an oversubscription for people who want to go to Quebec. Therefore, there's a longer wait time because the levels each year in Quebec's levels plan have been lower. There's a limited space. That results in a larger inventory and longer wait times for people who would like to go to Quebec.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

That may be the case, yes.

In your opening remarks, you said that measures were needed to speed up the processing of files. I would like to have more details on that. What means do you intend to deploy immediately to speed up the processing of files for doctors, nurses and other health professionals?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

The provincial nominee program, the Atlantic immigration program and the rural immigration pilot do not concern Quebec, but rather the other provinces and territories.

In short, Quebec has the power to select all the economic immigrants it wants to admit to its territory.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

The fact remains that this complicates matters, clearly, but we can come back to it later.

Are you considering allowing professionals in fields with a critical labour shortage to have access to a fast lane?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Are you talking about Quebec?

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

I'm talking about a fast lane for health care professionals.

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

There are challenges in Quebec, but there are also opportunities. We have to work with all the provinces, but when it comes to Quebec, we do what Quebec wants. In this area, it is not up to us to make the decisions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

I think the time is up. Thank you very much.

We'll now go to the second round. It's a five-minute round.

We will begin with Ms. Konanz from the Conservatives.

[Helena Konanz, Conservative, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Thank you, Chair.

Minister Michel, given that many communities in my riding and throughout Canada face sudden and unexpected ER closures due to doctor shortages, would you agree with me that a shortage of doctors and nurses is creating a rural health care crisis in Canada, yes or no?