Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for that sensible question. The issue of brain drain could not be made more clear than to recognize that one-third of the current medical graduates from our 16 medical schools in Canada do not set up practice in Canada. They leave this country and never set up practice. That is a tragedy. We, as taxpayers, have a lot to say in terms of their training.
On the issue of foreign graduates and other individuals, some of them are driving taxis while their medical credentials are left unused. That is another tragedy.
We have a closed shop mentality in our country. We have an idea that the only training that is good is North American training, and that is not accurate. Those individuals should be able to pass an examination. I would open my arms and my heart to their experience, their thoughts, their ideas and their talents. Many of them go to far-flung spots to practise in areas that have difficulty getting practitioners. They will go anywhere to practise their skills.
The sad thing is that governments bought the idea that physicians were driving health care costs and if we restricted the number of physicians we would drive down costs. It would be wrong for me to talk so much about physicians. There is a shortage of nurses now due to the same issue.
It is a very sensible suggestion and I appreciate the hon. member's input.