the CanadaVisa Team - 23 July, 2015
With a health care worker shortage in Quebec, the provincial Immigration Minister Yolande James is working to make it easier for foreign health care professionals to become licensed to practice in Quebec. As a regulated industry, all foreign health care workers must belong to a professional corporation, which ensures that foreign qualifications are equivalent to Quebec qualifications.
To help new immigrants gain access to them, the Immigration Minister has established agreements with seven professional corporations – governing doctors, nurses, nurses’ aides, occupational therapists, inhalations therapists, midwives, and medical technicians. “The ultimate goal is to make sure that every person who comes to Quebec and who wishes to be a part of a professional order can follow the steps as efficiently as possible and become a member of the order,” said James. The goal of these agreements is to increase awareness about the licensing process in Quebec for foreign professionals, and to offer tutoring to help them pass the corporations’ exams.
Each of the seven professional orders will receive grants of $100,000 towards these ends. In addition, the Quebec immigration department has allocated $525,000 for specialized French courses to prepare foreign-trained health professionals to deal with French-speaking patients.
