Your Honor On March 19, Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the Official Opposition, made plans to establish a “Blue Seal” National Professional Testing Standard in order to quickly license professionals who demonstrate their qualifications, such as doctors and nurses. The objective is to guarantee that anyone who successfully completes the standard national examination for their field will receive a “Blue Seal” certificate that entitles them to work in any province or territory that chooses to join the Blue Seal Standard. The Red Seal standard, which has been in use for more than 50 years in most regulated trades, serves as the foundation for the Blue Seal for professions. Because it provides them with skilled workers, all of the provinces and territories have chosen to join the Red Seal program. They would have a similar impetus to join the Blue Seal for the callings: a greater number of highly paid doctors, nurses, and other professionals who will fill economic gaps and pay a significant amount of provincial tax.
The Issue:
Our health care system is worse than ever after Justin Trudeau’s eight years in power. Only 41% of foreign-credentialed doctors and 37% of foreign-credentialed nurses are employed as doctors. The rest are kept out by gatekeepers. This indicates that our nation has 34,105 nurses and 18,900 doctors with foreign training who are not employed in their chosen fields. That’s 53,005 doctors and nurses who might be able to help Canadians who are in need of it most.
This is due to the fact that obtaining a professional license in Canada requires completing thirteen distinct administrative procedures. Instead of looking at where a doctor comes from, it’s important to look at whether they meet Canada’s competency standards. Even Canadian-born students studying abroad cannot easily obtain a license upon their return. Additionally, due to conflicting standards, even licensed individuals frequently cannot easily work in another province. This gatekeeping has, quite literally, fatal consequences.
Over six million people in Canada lack access to a family physician. 41% of the fortunate few who do say they are unable to schedule an appointment right away. Due to severe nursing shortages, emergency rooms are being forced to close and Canadians are unable to receive the care they require.
Solution:
To obtain a license in regulated professions, establish a national “Blue Seal” testing standard that begins with doctors and nurses and continues until all regulated professions are covered. It would be possible for provinces and territories to join or maintain their own systems.
Poilievre will collaborate with provinces and the healthcare industry to establish a national competency body for this Blue Seal. This body will establish standards similar to those set by the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship (CCDA) for the Red Seal certificate, which is available for many skilled trades.
Make a deal with provinces and territories to establish a 60-day standard so that health professionals with foreign training applying for Blue Seal certification can take the test and receive a response within 60 days.
The Advantage:
Tested skill, not bureaucratic procedures, will be the basis for licensing. The Blue Seal Exam would evaluate immigrant doctors based on their abilities, not where they studied.
Qualifications of international students will be evaluated more quickly.
Mobility between provinces
