Horwath’s NDP bill: To fix barriers for foreign-trained health workers

Horwath’s NDP bill: To fix barriers for foreign-trained health workers

NDP’s leader Andrea Horwath

QUEEN’S PARK — Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath joined MPP Doly Begum, the NDP’s critic for Citizenship, Foreign Credentials and Immigration, to introduce a new plan to address barriers faced by internationally trained workers — especially nurses, doctors and other health care workers needed and wanted in Ontario.

“There are highly skilled nurses who have watched this pandemic steamroll Ontario’s hospitals and long-term care homes, while they are forced to watch from the sidelines. There are doctors who would like to help with the shortage of family doctors in communities across Ontario — but families go without care while doctors are caught up in a broken system,” Horwath said. “For people with the right university degrees, relevant work experience, training and professional credentials, being certified in Ontario can take literally years.

“Ontario’s international credential system is broken. The NDP will fix it, and get people excellent health care faster.”

Begum’s private member’s bill the Fairness for Ontario’s Internationally Trained Workers Act will force the government to finally take action to fix the foreign credentials system in Ontario, so people can get to work in their field quicker.

“Ontario is home to people from all over the world, many of whom come here seeking safety, security and hope for a better life. And Ontario desperately needs health care workers. Fixing the international credentials system is a win-win,” said Begum. “But Conservative and Liberal governments built a bad system, and let it get worse and worse over the years. People are paying a hefty price for that — from doctors working minimum wage jobs for years while they jump through hoops, to patients who wait longer for surgery or for a family doctor’s appointment.”

Begum’s bill would compel the government to address accreditation barriers faced by internationally trained professionals. For example, the NDP plans to fix the barrier of required local experience with a job-matching program to guarantee internationally trained physicians can get local experience that counts towards their accreditation. Alberta is already doing that. The NDP also plans to make it easier for internationally educated nurses to gain recognition of their international clinical experiences and apply for clinical placements here in Ontario. Too many internationally educated nurses are trapped in a system that does not recognize their experience and requires them to return to school for exams they’ve already passed.

The NDP’s detailed plan will be developed in consultation with internationally trained professionals, regulatory bodies, professional associations, settlement organizations and employment organizations.

(PRESS RELEASE)