Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Armstrong. For a very long time, I had buried many things deep down, and you stirred up experiences I had gone through before coming here and standing up for women.
I am a doctor by training. I chose Quebec because I felt an affinity for the province's language and culture. I was happy to come to a country where equality, democracy and justice were the norm. When I came here, I chose Quebec, so I am not speaking for Canada in general. I was aware that the system was very different from that in my home country. I will tell you parenthetically that I had 10 years of experience and that I worked as a volunteer doctor during the Gulf War.
Forgive me, talking about it brings back a lot of emotions.
I am very happy to be here, in Canada, and to be where I am today.
In terms of my struggle at the provincial level, I have always said that the immigrant has to put in 50% of the effort, as does the host country. We have no objection to going through a process because the cultural values of foreign doctors—except U.S. doctors—are not the same as those of the host country. Everyone can agree on that. The problem foreign doctors come up against is dealing not with government agencies but with professional bodies. Unfortunately, those bodies do not have the resources to foster an environment that is conducive to integrating foreign doctors. I have always said that is the fear of immigrants coming here who want nothing more than to integrate into the profession. And I have repeatedly pointed out the fact that these doctors did not cost the Quebec nation or Canada a dime.
The reason I fought so hard was the acute shortage that had plagued Quebec for decades. And I realized that what was lacking was genuine political will to help these immigrants integrate into the profession and to take advantage of this wealth of individuals with foreign credentials and skills arriving in the province.
What would you recommend to the committee in terms of how the federal government could enhance the leadership and economic prosperity of these women here, in Canada?