2004-08March 1, 2004For immediate releaseOTTAWA -- The Honourable Hedy Fry, Member of Parliament for Vancouver Centre and parliamentary secretary responsible for foreign credential recognition, on behalf of Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew, today announced $4 million in federal government funding to enable more foreign-trained doctors to become licensed to practise medicine in Canada. This initiative reflects the Government's Throne Speech commitment to build a sustainable health care system in which every Canadian has timely access to quality care regardless of income or geography. This funding will help meet Canadians' need for more doctors by enabling more international medical graduates who have immigrated to Canada to become physicians here. It will also support measures to create a better system for bringing these graduates into Canada's supply of physicians. "This initiative will help relieve physician shortages and reflects this government's commitment to speedier recognition of foreign credentials," said Minister Pettigrew. "It builds on the work we've done with provincial and territorial governments and stakeholders in the medical community to develop a better approach to licensing international medical graduates. We are upholding our rigorous standards for licensure, while enabling more of these foreign-trained graduates to contribute to our health care system." The announcement was made during a forum in Calgary of federal, provincial and territorial officials, regulatory authorities, medical schools, international medical graduates, and key stakeholders in the medical community. The participants at the conference, called Forum 2004: IMG Taskforce Implementation, are planning for the implementation of the recommendations of the Canadian Taskforce on Licensure of International Medical Graduates, which was established in June 2002 to address the integration of qualified medical graduates into the Canadian physician supply. "This forum is an example of the new partnership with the provinces and territories which the Government of Canada is intent on forging so that we can all work together to serve Canadians," said Minister Pettigrew. "I want to applaud the work of the Taskforce and thank all the representatives of the medical community and international medical graduates who have come to the Calgary forum to work on this initiative, which will give us a stronger and more sustainable health system." The $4 million in federal funding will support the implementation of the Taskforce's six recommendations, which have been approved by federal, provincial and territorial governments. The Taskforce, made up of government and medical community representatives, recommended: Ensuring there is adequate funding to support an expansion of assessment and training programs for international medical graduates; A series of measures to work toward standardization of the evaluation process for foreign-trained graduates applying for medical licensure in Canada; Expansion of supports and programs to assist these graduates with the requirements and process for medical licensure in Canada; Development of an orientation program to support medical faculty and physicians working with international medical graduates; Development of the capacity to track and recruit these foreign-trained medical graduates through the creation of a national database; Establishment of a research agenda that will evaluate the Taskforce's licensure recommendations and the impact of the strategy on Canada's physician supply. "We all know from long experience that the whole country benefits when immigrants have the opportunity to make full use of their skills and abilities in the occupation of their choice," said Dr. Hedy Fry, Member of Parliament for Vancouver Centre and parliamentary secretary responsible for foreign credential recognition, who addressed the Calgary conference. "Initiatives like this, which develop clear procedures for recognizing the credentials of foreign-trained Canadians and immigrants, are crucial for our country's future economic and social development and global competitiveness." Health Canada will provide $3 million over the next three years to assist provinces and territories in assessing international medical graduates. This funding will bring at least 100 additional foreign-trained graduates into Canada's physician supply over the three-year period. Health Canada, Human Resources and Skills Development, Industry Canada, and Citizenship and Immigration Canada have collaborated on an additional $1.1 million in federal funding, which will be used to assist the implementation of the recommendations. The initiative is part of the Government of Canada's Foreign Credential Recognition (FCR) program, which aims to facilitate the entry of foreign-trained professionals into the Canadian labour market and their mobility within it. Physicians are one of the initial targeted occupations, as are nurses and engineers. Most of the funding comes from the $90 million the government allocated to support its commitment in the 2003 Accord on Health Care Renewal to work on strategies with the provinces and territories to ensure Canada has the health professionals it needs. The Prime Minister built on this commitment at his meeting with First Ministers this January, announcing an extra $2 billion in transfers to the provinces for such purposes as providing more doctors and nurses. -30- Media Inquiries: Paige Raymond Kovach Health Canada (613) 948-4629 Adèle Blanchard Office of Pierre S. Pettigrew Minister of Health Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Responsible for Official Languages (613) 957-0200 Public Inquiries: (613) 957-2991
