Thanks very much.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here today.
Madam Craig Garrison, I'll ask a question that's probably posed around a table at Tim Hortons on a fairly regularly basis. In a country as affluent as Canada, why is it we're not able to fill the demand for medical professionals, for doctors and what have you? Why are we not able to provide enough Canadian doctors for current and future needs? Could you give me an overview of the number of seats in medical schools across the country? Are they growing? Have they grown?
I know for a fact that young people from my riding who are skilled students, great students, have continually applied to medical schools and there's just no room for them. Two of them, a brother and sister from my riding, friends of my oldest guy, are in medical school in the Caribbean now. It's not a bad gig, I guess, but they hope to come back here and practice.
Why are they not being allowed the opportunity here? Or are we providing enough opportunity, I guess, for those who want to study medicine in this country?
Perhaps I could have your comments on that before we get into the credentials.