Health Committee on Nov. 18th, 2025

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

We work very collaboratively with ESDC in terms of that. Another piece of good news in the budget is there are 33,000 work permit holders who we will be looking to bring into permanent residency. I would hope that some of them would definitely be health care workers, and the idea is some of them, obviously, are also going to be in rural communities.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

Ms. Larouche, you now have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Minister Diab, we agree that Quebec selects a large proportion of immigrants. However, it is the college of physicians that decides who has the right to practise medicine. The federal government decides on its immigration targets for each category, and it has the power to do all the necessary checks in order to issue temporary work permits. When I talk about the complexity of the department, that's what I mean.

Is Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada working with Quebec to attract health professionals to rural areas? This follows up on what Mr. Powlowski said earlier about the needs in rural areas.

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

As I said earlier, Quebec selects all its economic workers. It is true that we administer, together with Quebec, the international student program, but it is the Province of Quebec that chooses the temporary workers it wants to admit.

Quebec's immigration plan for 2026 was made public on November 6, 2025, and it includes temporary residence targets: 55,000 temporary workers and 68,000 foreign students.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Does Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada guarantee that immigration in the health care field will support the vitality of French?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have 12 seconds.

[Louise Baird]

We are working with Quebec. They would like to, of course, increase the number of French speakers in the province. There are some regulations that they're bringing forward. We're doing the same thing in parallel along the timelines that Quebec would like so we can make our modifications to our regulations as well for some of the programs we have authority for. The international mobility program is the name of the program.

We're working closely with Quebec so we can modify those regulations in line with Quebec's changes to increase some of that French language ability in the province.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much. The time is now well over.

I'm going to move to Mr. Mazier from the Conservatives for five minutes, please.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Thank you, Chair.

Minister Diab, last year your department approved permanent residency for 674 immigrant doctors through the federal skilled workers express entry program. How many of those 674 immigrants are now licensed and practising as doctors in Canada?

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

That would not be information that I have.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Okay.

Minister Michel, do you know how many of those 674 immigrant doctors are now practising in Canada?

[Marjorie Michel, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

No, I don't have the information.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Minister Diab, does the immigration department track how many immigrant doctors become licensed as doctors once admitted into Canada?

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

No, I don't believe that is an IRCC function. Again, it's the licensing bodies as well as the hospitals or the medical institutions that are employing them.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Does the immigration department know how many doctors are driving taxis instead of working in hospitals?

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

Let me turn to Ms. Park to give you a fulsome answer.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Just answer the question. Do they know how many?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Excuse me, but the minister is free to ask her official to answer that question. You asked a question.

Ms. Park, go ahead.

[Soyoung Park]

That was previously answered, but I think you wanted to know what the role of the immigration department is.

When we do our selection under—

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

No, pardon me. The question was this: Does IRCC track how many immigrant doctors become licensed as doctors once admitted into Canada?

[Soyoung Park]

That was already answered by the minister.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

No.

Do they track how many are driving taxis and Ubers instead of working as doctors? Do they track any other thing as far as what immigrant doctors are doing?

[Soyoung Park]

I was prepared to answer the question—

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Yes or no?

[Soyoung Park]

—related to permanent resident status. As soon as someone is admitted as a permanent resident, then they have all the rights and privileges of any other permanent resident and can—