Mr. Speaker, across northern Ontario, our health care system is in crisis. Many people are without a family doctor. Emergency rooms have been forced to close, and the great health care professionals we do have are burnt out from working overtime to try to fill labour gaps. This has been caused in part by Canada's red tape and barriers to entry for health care workers.
Currently, fewer than half of foreign-trained doctors and nurses are working in their profession, meaning there are 50,000 health care professionals who could be working in our hospitals but are unable to do so. That is why common-sense Conservatives will bring in a blue seal national testing standard. This will ensure foreign-trained professionals can work in their field and take their skills wherever they are needed across the country. It will include a 60-day standard so people applying for certification can take a test and receive an answer in a timely fashion.
Our health care system is in need of support. Only Conservatives will remove the red tape and the barriers so we can bring home doctors and nurses.