Ontario woos healthcare workers from across Canada

Ontario woos healthcare workers from across Canada

To address shortage of workers

By Veronica Silva Cusi

The Philippine Reporter

January 25, 2023

Doug Ford, Ontario Premier

TORONTO – Ontario has recently announced a new strategy to attract healthcare workers from across Canada.

On January 19, the Ford government announced that it would table legislation next month which will allow healthcare workers registered or licensed in other provinces or territories to practise “immediately” in Ontario “without having to first register with one of Ontario’s health regulatory colleges.”

Called the “As of Right” rule, the proposal is aimed at addressing the shortage of healthcare workers, the gravity of which was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For nurses alone, the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) said last November that the province needs 24,000 registered nurses (RNs) to meet the national average. That was based on a report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) saying that the national average is 830.5 RNs per 100,000 citizens. In Ontario, there are only 668 RNs per 100,000.

The “As of Right” policy is the latest among recent initiatives by the Ontario government to increase staffing of healthcare workers, including the internationally educated. It is generally known in the profession and health circles that getting international credentials recognized in Canada is a struggle.

France Gélinas, NDP health critic

Internationally educated and practising healthcare professionals make up a significant portion of Canada’s healthcare workforce. CIHI noted that in 2021, 26.2% of physicians are international educated. “Some studies suggest that there may be a significant number of internationally trained health care workers who are living in Canada but are not licensed to practise,” the CIHI report added.

Jennifer Lopez, president of Integrated Filipino Canadian Nurses Association (IFCNA), welcomed the proposal as it would mean patients would get much-needed care.

“Our stand is always to help our patients,” Lopez told The Philippine Reporter. “If that’s the way to help in healthcare crises, we are amenable to it. If we can get help in any way, we can provide care to our patients. Why not? In this way (is) no more long waiting period for emergencies, and ICU patients will have the proper care.”

But Ontario’s official opposition, the NDP, said Ontario needs to invest in the healthcare system to attract and retain the professionals. In a press statement, France Gélinas, NDP health critic, called on Premier Doug Ford to stop his appeal for Bill 124, which restricts pay increases in the public sector.  In November, the Ontario Superior Court ruled that the bill is unconstitutional. But the Ford government is appealing.

Gélinas said Ford’s announcement fails to address crucial issues, such as:

“Who will come to work in Ontario knowing they will be overworked and underpaid? Who will want to work in our health care system when they know they will be working short staffed, not able to provide quality care, asked to put their license at risk, and be pressured to work overtime and double shifts? When new nurses come to Ontario, who will train them if senior staff have been pushed to the brink and are leaving the system?”

Jennifer Lopez, president of Integrated Filipino Canadian Nurses Association (IFCNA)

Lopez downplayed the notion that there could be competition between Ontarians waiting for their registration versus out-of-province registered healthcare professionals who will hit the ground running.

“There will always be competition,” she said. “But as healthcare providers, we put patient care first. That’s the oath we swore by.”

Effective this year, Ontario will work closely with the College of Nurses to reduce the barriers to registration of internationally educated nurses by providing faster response times, addressing language proficiency testing requirements, and exemption from Canadian experience requirements, according to its press release of Dec. 2022.

Aside from fast-tracking credential accreditation for internationally educated healthcare professionals, Ontario has also increased the number of seats in medical school education — 160 undergraduate seats and 295 postgraduate positions over the next five years, according to its media release of Jan. 19, 2023.