Parliamentary Context

Committee & Appearance Overview

About The Committee

Committee Mandate

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Health (HESA) studies and reports on all matters relating to the mandate, management, and operation of Health Canada. This includes the operations of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), an internal Health Canada body.

Motion For This Study

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study on the impact of the federal government’s immigration policy to healthcare and the barriers preventing the integration of internationally educated health professionals into the Canadian healthcare system.

That the study consists of no less than six meetings; that one full meeting be dedicated to the Minister of Health and officials; that one full meeting be dedicated to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and officials; that witnesses include the Canadian Post-MD Education Registry (CAPER), Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Medical Council of Canada, and internationally trained physicians; and that the committee report its findings to the House.

Past Reports

Saving More Lives: Improving Guidance, Increasing Access and Achieving Better Outcomes in Breast Cancer Screening Committee Report No. 1 - HESA (45-1) - House of Commons of Canada

Addressing Canada`s Health Workforce Crisis Committee Report No. 10 - HESA (44-1) - House of Commons of Canada

About The Appearance

Environmental Scan

Questioning is anticipated to be focused on immigration barriers for internationally-educated medical professionals seeking to work in Canada. IRCC should focus on the positive measures and programs, such as the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot, and provincial and territorial relationships. Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) will likely question IRCC’s Digital Platform Modernization Phase 3 program, backlogs, and other programs or policies that may be barriers to internationally-accredited medical professionals.

The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) will likely criticize the government for not doing enough to attract top talent in sufficient levels. They may question how the government plans to work on recognizing the international accreditation of people who are already here. They may also ask for data on the effectiveness of the Economic Mobility Pathways pilot, and whether there is a backlog of medical professionals waiting to work in Canada, and they will likely ask what the Department is doing to mitigate this if it is indeed the case.

The Bloc Quebecois (BQ) may raise concerns over French immigration to the province and the need for qualified healthcare professionals who are also Francophone. BQ MPs may also ask questions regarding provincial and territorial relationships regarding balancing immigration amongst them.

We could expect the Liberal Party members to ask for IRCC to point to what has been done and will be done to limit any barriers and backlogs.

Appearance Details

It is anticipated that the Minister will be invited to appear for a two-hour meeting. We recommend that the Minister appear for the first hour supported by IRCC officials, who would then remain for the second hour to respond to further questions.

To support for the Minister and remain for the second hour, we recommend the following officials:

• Louise Baird, SADM, Strategic Policy (talent attraction);
• Soyoung Park, ADM, Economic Programs (workers); and
• Catherine Scott, ADM, Settlement and Citizens (foreign credential recognition).

Membership

Conservative Party of Canada

Dan Mazier
Riding Mountain, MB
Vice-Chair of HESA
Shadow Minister for Health

Burton Bailey
Red Deer, AB
Member

Helena Konanz
Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
Member

Matt Strauss
Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON
Member

Bloc Québécois

Luc Thériault
Montcalm, QC
Vice-Chair of HESA
Critic for health

Liberal Party of Canada

Hon. Hedy Fry
Vancouver Centre, BC
Chair of HESA

Maggie Chi
Don Valley North, ON
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health
Member

Doug Eyolfson
Winnipeg West, MB
Member

Marcus Powlowski
Thunder Bay—Rainy, ON
Member

Sonia Sidhu
Brampton South, ON
Member

Conservative Party of Canada

Top Party Issues

Refugees

• Processing refugee claims faster on a last-in, first-out basis and implementing departure tracking to determine how many people are overstaying their visa.

Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs)

• Make the Temporary Foreign Worker Program more restrictive, with additional requirements to hire Canadians and to limit the program to in-demand industries and farming. They have committed to collaborating with businesses facing labour shortages to help them access TFWs.

Processing Times and Client Service

• Processing refugee claims faster on a last-in, first-out basis.

Border/Asylum Issues

• The CPC have drawn a distinction between “fake” and “real” asylum seekers and have committed to deporting the former.

French Immigration

• The CPC have released a “Quebec platform,” in which they commit to respecting the spirit of the Canada-Quebec Accord vis-à-vis Quebec’s powers over immigration and opposing the century initiative. The leader has remarked he will work with Quebec to halve the number of temporary immigrants in Quebec.

Settlement and Integration

• The CPC leader has remarked that newcomers should leave problems abroad at home.

Levels

• Cap immigration levels and tie them to housing, labour market, and healthcare capacity.

Recent Party Activity

October 30 – HESA: Noted that the cost of the Interim Federal Health Program has skyrocketed from $66M per year in 2017 to $800M a year today; Highlighted that doctors have reported colleagues are billing inflated premiums to refugee claimants to exploit this program (Mazier).

October 28 – HESA: Asked if IRCC consulted the Medical Council of Canada for its Immigration Levels Plan (Mazier).

October 28 – HESA: Inquired if the VISA training program would approve permits to allow foreign doctors to train in Canada (Mazier).

October 14 – X: Criticized a recent IRCC X post, noting the current overcrowding of Canadian hospitals and lack of family doctors; criticized advertising health care to immigrants while 6.5M Canadians can’t see a doctor (Mazier).

October 14 – X: Tweeted about IRCC’s Minister’s the lack of understanding the current health care crisis in relation to immigration (Rempel Garner).

October 9 – HESA: Asked if Canada’s current health care system can handle the 395 000 permanent residents and 673 000 non-permanent residents that entered Canada this year (Mazier).

October 2 – HESA: Inquired why the government is not adding more seats in medical school instead of looking at immigration for more doctors (Bailey).

September 25 – X: Tweeted about the Health Committee looking into how the immigration system can bring more healthcare workers to Canada to work (Konanz).

September 22 – Debates: Claimed illegal border crossers claiming asylum surged by 277%, putting massive pressure on Canada’s health care system (Ho).

September 19 – Debates: Noted that the healthcare system is burdened and does not allow for professionals trained abroad to practice in Canada (Mazier).

September 16 – X: Tweeted about the “out-of-control” immigration system being part of Canada’s healthcare problem, including the 1200% increase on spending of the Interim Federal Health Program (Mazier).

September 16 – Debates: Highlighted the increased cost of the Interim Federal Health Program by nearly 1200% since 2016 (Rempel).

September 16 – Debates: Criticized the government for providing mental health counselling for groups that include “bogus” asylum claimants, instead for tax paying Canadians (Cobena).

September 15 – Debates: Noted that the total immigration numbers have to go down for the sake of Canada’s housing system and health care system (Strauss).

Bloc Québécois

Top Party Issues

Temporary Foreign Workers 

• Open sectoral and regional permits for temporary foreign workers.

Border/Asylum Issues

• Create a Minister of the Border.

• Stronger border security measures.

• Will introduce a bill on asylum claimants to improve processing times for asylum files.

French Immigration and Quebec

• The BQ is opposed to the Century Initiative.

• All immigration powers should be transferred to Quebec.

Settlement and Integration

• The BQ have committed to a policy for integrating immigrants into Quebec society.

• The Party would remove all references to the British Monarchy in citizenship ceremonies.

Levels

• The BQ is opposed to the Century Initiative, which they believe will exceed Quebec’s integration capacity.

• Federal government must discuss levels with provinces and consider their capacity.

• Asylum influx puts pressure on Quebec health care services.

Recent Party Activity

October 30 – HESA: Asked if IRCC has any clear rules or practices for internationally trained healthcare professionals before they come to Canada (Theriault).

October 28 – HESA: Inquired if the Canadian framework for evaluating and recognizing foreign credit and foreign credit recognition program were efficient (Theriault).

October 28 – HESA: Highlighted that the 2022 budget had given $115,000 over five years to help 11 000 professionals from abroad to have their credits recognized (Theriault).

September 25 – Debates: Noted the importance of foreign workers and how essential they are to the workforce during labour shortages (Larouche).

September 25 – Debates: Voiced concern on the changing of the levels threshold of temporary foreign workers. Believes that it must gradually be done to not create labour shortages across sectors (Perron).

September 16 – Debates: Highlighted that the influx of asylum seekers has put pressure on public services, housing, health care services, and education (Simard).

June 19 – Debates: Noted the influx of migrants into Quebec placed tremendous pressure on the province’s health care system and social services (Simard).

Liberal Party of Canada

Top Party Issues

Refugees

• The LPC will support legal aid for asylum seekers and refugees and expand the Rainbow Refugee Assistance Partnership.

Temporary Foreign Workers 

• The LPC commits to cap the total number of temporary workers and international students to less than 5% of Canada’s population by the end of 2027.

Processing Times and Client Service

• The LPC has expressed concerns about resource and productivity issues within the Department leading to delays in processing asylum and refugee files.

• The LPC have committed to enhance cooperation between governments, agencies, and organizations for real-time information sharing to improve efficiency and service delivery.

Border/Asylum Issues

• The LPC has noted the Safe Third Country Agreement allows Canada to return asylum seekers to the U.S. and that this practice remains appropriate, especially given a potential increase of asylum seekers at the border.

• The LPC plans to strengthen border integrity by increasing resources for security screenings, tightening visa requirements, and enhancing enforcement against fraud.

Family Reunification

• The LPC has committed to having an immigration plan that will allow for the reunification of families.

Digitization

• The LPC will leverage digital tools to reduce processing times and eliminate backlogs.

French Immigration

• The LPC committed to increasing French immigration outside Quebec to 12% by 2029.

• The LPC Platform recognizes that immigration is a shared responsibility with the Government of Quebec.

• The LPC leader said it is important to improve the distribution of immigration between provinces.

Levels

• The LPC has committed to stabilize permanent resident admissions at less than 1% of Canada’s population annually beyond 2027 and to cap immigration until it can be returned to a sustainable trend.

Recent Party Activity

October 30 – HESA: Inquired on how many IENs are working in the Canadian health care system (Powlowski).

October 30 – HESA: Noted that some provinces are piloting faster credential recognition programs and asked for examples of promising initiatives (Sidhu).

October 9 – HESA: Highlighted the importance of immigrants for the health care system; asked for figures on the number of people such as foreign graduates that are employed as health care professionals in Canada (Powlowski).

October 2 – HESA: Inquired on what the government is doing to try and facilitate the licensing of foreign nationals working in health care (Powlowski).

October 2 – HESA: Noted the current claims that measles outbreaks are caused by the increased immigration in Canada (Eyolfson).

September 17 – Debates: Claimed internationally trained, educated health professionals are key to addressing challenges facing the health care system (Chi).

September 15 – Debates: Voiced concern over the impression from other parties that Canada’s health care system are caused by immigrants and immigration levels (Lamoureux).

August 28 – X: Tweeted against claims that recent measles cases are due to “immigrants” (Eyolfson).

June 19 – Debates: Commented on the issue of Canadians born abroad being unable to provide their children with health care in Canada due to the lack of the child’s Canadian citizenship (Desrochers).

June 19 – Debates: Noted their support on Bill C-3 and commented on the government's commitment to narrow social gaps and ensure everyone has access to essential services such as health care (Dhillon).

June 3 – Debates: Highlighted the federal government moved out of the fiscal capacity area in taxation to allow provinces to fund health care (Morrissey).