Health Committee on Oct. 28th, 2025

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you.

I will now go to Monsieur Thériault for six minutes.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

First of all, I want to say I'm sorry Dr. Anand had technical difficulties earlier.

Ms. Slawecki, at the last meeting, we heard from Dr. Bichay, who spoke rather eloquently about all the problems she encountered as an internationally trained health professional.

The committee will have to evaluate how effective existing measures are and make recommendations about what should be done and created.

The problem we're talking about today isn't a new one. In 2009, the federal government created the pan-Canadian framework for the assessment and recognition of foreign qualifications. In 2010, it created the foreign credential recognition program.

Are you aware of those programs? Based on your real-life experience, are they effective or not?

[Eva Slawecki]

Thank you, Mr. Thériault.

I'm not actually familiar with those programs. They happened over 15 years ago. I'm not sure of the success or results of those programs.

What I know is that there are ways to make it easier for people to get into practice. We have heard a lot of these solutions around national standards. It would be really helpful to be clear about them, because I don't know that people are aware of the different nuances between the different provinces when they immigrate. Having a national program would definitely be extremely helpful in streamlining many processes.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

I will come back to the possibility of national standards.

Were you aware that budget 2022 allocated $115 million over five years to expand the foreign credential recognition program? The government said it would help 11,000 foreign-trained health professionals get their credentials recognized in Canada.

[Eva Slawecki]

Yes, I'm aware of that program.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Okay.

Did that $23 million per year ever flow? Did it help improve things?

[Eva Slawecki]

I think it's a good first step. There's a lot more that needs to be done. I can't speak to the efficiency of that investment.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Witnesses have told us that money needs to be invested in that. The government actually planned to invest.

What would we have to do to measure the effectiveness of that investment and ensure the money is being used to eliminate problems and barriers?

[Eva Slawecki]

A lot more research needs to be done, with a lot more studies and with better data collection. We know there are a lot of gaps in the data and that there are a lot of nuances in the types of data collected.

In terms of the return on investment, I think that as well needs to be taken into consideration. Again, a lot more work needs to be done on understanding where the money goes and how it's spent.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

You talked about the possibility of establishing national standards. Have you identified differences between standards in Quebec and the other provinces?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have one minute.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

If so, could you provide documentation to the committee? That would help us understand how provinces and territories differ.

[Eva Slawecki]

Certainly, we can submit a further document to answer some of those questions about the differences in licensure. I think that organizations like MCC and other institutions might be better equipped, but I'd be happy to collaborate with others on collecting that information for you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have 23 seconds.

Are you done, Mr. Thériault?

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Oh, do I still have time, Madam Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

No, you have 11 seconds now. I called 23 seconds for you.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Okay.

Ms. Slawecki, do you have a sense of what kind of national standards should be established?

[Eva Slawecki]

Basically, the big one would be for the practice-ready assessments to make sure there's a common basis for evaluation of the skills of health professionals to ensure there's consistency across the country, then if they pass a practice-ready assessment in one province, it's applicable in others. A lot of that speaks to consistency across the country.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you.

Now we'll go to the second round. It's a five-minute round.

We'll begin with Mr. Mazier for the Conservatives for five minutes please.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Thank you, Chair.

Mr. Barnum, how many visa trainees were in Canada for the medical training in 2024?

[Geoffrey Barnum]

I brought tables.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

I have the information here for you. Let's take a look at it.

[Geoffrey Barnum]

One moment, please.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

This is burning into my time, so according to “The National IMG Database Report”, there were 3,458 visa trainees in Canada for medical training in 2024.

Is that correct?

[Geoffrey Barnum]

Yes.