Health Committee on Nov. 20th, 2025

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

Super. Thank you.

The next question I have is about the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and the Conference Board of Canada, which found that new immigrants are leaving Canada at near-record rates, with highly educated and highly skilled immigrants leaving Canada at twice the rate of those with less education and lower skills, which is the opposite of what we've been talking about at this committee. It's something we obviously don't want to happen.

Can IRCC table with this committee the information you've collected on the onward migration of medical professionals, specifically the number of permanent residents approved for entry as medical professionals who have come and subsequently left Canada in the last 10 years? Do you have that? Can you table that information?

[Louise Baird]

I'll certainly check if we have access to that information, and if we have it, we can provide it.

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

Thank you. That would be great.

The federal skilled worker express entry program is for skilled workers who have foreign work experience and want to become permanent residents of Canada.

Is there a specific target number that IRCC has for how many medical professionals it's seeking to have immigrate to Canada through the federal skilled worker express entry program?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

If you do not have the answer, you could table it, as always, for the clerk to distribute.

[Louise Baird]

In front of me, I have the total number under the federal high-skilled program in that category, but I don't have the further breakdown.

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

Could you get that information for the committee and table it?

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much. The time is up now, Ms. Konanz.

I'll go to Mr. Powlowski for the Liberals for five minutes, please.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

To the people from the Department of Health, I think, if I heard correctly, that when the minister was here, she said we are in the process of negotiating agreements with colleges in various provinces. I would assume those to be the colleges of physicians and surgeons and the colleges of nursing.

What sorts of agreements...? Is that money from the federal government going towards those colleges to help them address the issue of licensing foreign-trained medical professionals?

[Jocelyne Voisin]

I think what the minister was referring to was the funding that was provided through budget 2024, which was focused on new training positions for international medical graduates, assessment spots and navigation supports.

We are in the process of negotiating agreements to flow that funding. Some of those agreements are with provinces to support some of their medical schools.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Can you go a bit into what those agreements are? What's that money for? Is it to create practice-ready assessments, or is that...? Where is the money going?

[Jocelyne Voisin]

There are three different streams of that funding.

The first stream of that funding is for creating new training positions for international medical graduates. That's a mix of residency positions, meaning new residency positions in medical schools and practice-ready assessment positions to increase opportunities for those international medical graduates to complete their training and have their skills assessed to practise in Canada.

The second stream is for navigating foreign credential recognition. These are projects like information hubs for key professions like nurses, physicians and physiotherapists. They have step-by-step guides on how to navigate the process to get their credentials recognized: exam preparation materials, resources and learning modules.

The third stream is increasing assessment capacity. That's one of the gaps. There are not enough assessors for these physicians. These are projects that can accelerate assessment and bolster capacity to, for instance, enhance training for assessors or develop alternative certification pathways or practice-ready assessment supports.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

On the residencies, you said that the first stream was to go towards helping create residency positions and practice-ready assessments. Does that mean that the federal money is going directly to pay for people's residencies? Does that money create residency positions?

You're paying people for their residency positions, because otherwise, that comes from the medical schools and the hospitals. Am I right?

[Jocelyne Voisin]

Part of the funding will be for residency salaries. We will be supporting those new residency spots or training positions. As per budget 2024, the number is up to 120 new training spots.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

I'm sorry. Did you say 120?

[Jocelyne Voisin]

It's 120.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

That's across Canada. It's not a lot, given the shortage of physicians. It doesn't seem like a very significant number.

[Jocelyne Voisin]

It is modest, but I think every bit helps, and the provinces and schools are happy to get the support.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

For the IRCC people, I thought it was the ministry for jobs and families that was involved in issuing work permits, or is it the IRCC? Can you explain who has what role?

[Soyoung Park]

There are two types of temporary work permits. One is jointly administered by ESDC and IRCC. The international mobility program is IRCC's sole responsibility.

For the TFW program, which is the one with ESDC, there is a labour market impact assessment that goes along with that. However, it is only IRCC officers who actually issue the work permit at the end.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

We had somebody come in who represented chronic care homes. They talked about the shortage of PSWs and the difficulty in getting PSWs. They suggested that you should drop the requirement for LMIAs for PSWs.

Would you contemplate doing that, given the broad shortage? It would seem like a needless step when there is a well-recognized problem.

[Soyoung Park]

That's something we would have to discuss in concert with ESDC.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

I would like to thank the witnesses for coming and answering questions so extremely well, and with a lot of expertise and knowledge.

I would like to suspend so that we can get ready for the next hour.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

I now open the second hour of this hearing.

We have three witnesses with us for the second hour: Dr. Aaron Burry, chief executive officer, Canadian Dental Association; Dr. Keri McAdoo, chief executive officer, Physician Assessment Centre of Excellence; and Dr. Peter Nickerson, the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada, who is appearing virtually.

Welcome.

I will just run through the process. You each have five minutes to present. I will give you a one-minute shout-out and a 30-second one. You don't have to thank me. It's just to let you know where you are in time. Second, we have a question and answer period after that. Thank you.

Please begin, Dr. Burry, for five minutes.

[Dr. Aaron Burry, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Dental Association]

Good afternoon.

Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee, for the opportunity to appear. As mentioned, I'm Aaron Burry, the CEO of the Canadian Dental Association.

The CDA is a trusted voice of dentists working to improve the oral health of all people living in Canada. We promote oral health, support our members and advance the dental profession. The CDA represents over 21,000 practising dentists across the country, and it is a trusted source of information for and about the dental profession on both national and international issues.

Today, I'm going to provide an overview of the current state of the oral health care sector. Across Canada, the oral health sector is experiencing significant oral health resource challenges. Dental clinics are struggling to recruit and retain dental assistants and dental hygienists. This is similar to the broader health care system, and the CDA will suggest how the federal policy measures can help improve the situation.

A recent Statistics Canada survey showed that about 80% of dental offices in Canada are experiencing staffing shortages. Nearly half report difficulties hiring dental assistants and hygienists, leaving over 7,200 positions unfilled in 2023, particularly in rural and underserved communities.

A full launch of the Canadian dental care plan means that more Canadians are seeking dental care appointments than prior to its launch. Ensuring that the dental workforce can meet this increased demand is crucial to the program's success in maintaining high-quality care.

Recent reforms to federal immigration policies have removed dental assisting as an eligible field for study under the post-graduation work permit program, preventing dental assistant graduates from working in Canada. This is leading to difficult decisions, where some dental assisting schools are already planning to cancel their programs. If unaddressed, these issues will further strain dental practices.

Due to the urgent need for dental assistants and especially due to pressure from the CDCP rollout, the CDA calls on the federal government to expand the PGWP eligibility to include dental assisting. This would make immigration policies better align with the federal government's own criteria for the PGWP eligibility.

According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, fields of study linked to jobs facing long-term shortages should be prioritized for PGWP eligibility. Dental assisting clearly meets this test, given the widespread shortages across Canada and its essential role in providing oral health care for all people living in Canada. This evidence-based policy change will help address the dental assisting shortage, attract international talent and provide a fair pathway for graduates to contribute to Canada's health care system, ensuring timely and accessible care.

While the greatest workforce pressures are among dental assistants and hygienists, it's also important to consider the broader dental workforce. Although Canada does not face a shortage of dentists, there's an uneven distribution, with urban centres well served and rural areas lacking access.

Another issue is the challenges related to the credential recognition and pathways into practice for internationally trained dentists. They represent about 8% of all the internationally educated health professionals in Canada, yet only one-quarter of them are actually practising as dentists. Overall, internationally trained dentists represent 33% of the licensed practitioners in Canada, and this is growing year over year.

Continued collaboration between federal and provincial partners is improving credentialing processes, and it will help ensure that our dental workforce remains strong, competent and responsive to evolving health needs.

In conclusion, Canada's oral health system is at an important juncture. Targeted, practical policy decisions, such as restoring PGWP eligibility for dental assisting, can help address some of the immediate pressures and improve access for communities across the country.

Thank you, Madam Chair and committee members. I look forward to your questions and to working together on practical solutions that strengthen our oral health workforce.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

I'll now go to Dr. Keri McAdoo from the Physician Assessment Centre of Excellence.

Thank you.

You have five minutes, Dr. McAdoo.