MP Gallant Addresses Local Doctor Shortage with Health Minister

November 30, 2009

OTTAWA, ONTARIO… MP Cheryl Gallant, (Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke) was pleased to welcome Pembroke Doctor A.Y. Eng to Ottawa to present his proposal to Federal Health Minister, the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq.

“Since our government was elected, the number of practising physicians has increased at a faster rate, 8.0%, than growth in the general Canadian population,” observed Cheryl Gallant, MP.  “Unfortunately, even with almost 5000 more doctors practising in Canada, too many of our local residents are still without a family physician.”

“Health Minister Agulukkaq has first-hand experience with this problem, as the MP for Nunavut. There, the shortage of medical professionals in Canada’s high Arctic is more acute than here in the Ottawa Valley. The Minister was very receptive to Dr. Eng’s proposal. She pledged to work with our office to see how federal leadership could be applied while respecting the fact that health and education  is the responsibility of the province.

 ‘Project 1000, Let Us Train Our Own Family Doctors,’ is led by Pembroke doctor A.Y. Eng. This plan supports returning to the once common practice of allowing doctors to be trained locally. Their “Community-Based Preceptorship Program for International Medical Graduates” (IMGS), would draw upon the estimated 1700 IMGs in Canada who are not able to practise medicine in Canada due to Provincial government policy which limits the opportunities in Canada for IMGs to pursue the postgraduate medical training that would lead to medical licensure in this country. Physician ‘mentors’ would be compensated to supervise and train IMGs in a family practice setting.

“Of equal concern is the fact that our doctors are aging at the same rate as the general population, with an average age of 50. While many doctors continue to practise in their 70’s and older, the new generation may not have the same commitment to keep working.”

“While medical school enrolment is up, which is a good sign for the future, we need local doctors now,” stated MP Gallant. “Pembroke resident A.Y. Eng and his wife have first-hand experience as foreign-trained doctors who had to struggle to get their credentials recognized.

“We have local residents who are being trained as doctors in the United States, which recognizes Canadian standards, who would like the opportunity to practise medicine in Canada. Dr. Eng has a practical solution to our local doctor shortage,” concluded MP Gallant.