Idea to throw around

My dad and I were discussing the doctor shortage in Canada last night, and how so many foreign-trained doctors end up driving cabs because we don't have enough residency spots to give them Canadian experience so they can practise medicine here.

He suggested changing the system, and I wanted to throw out this idea for discussion, because I thought it was a good one. (My dad, btw, works for Immigration Canada, so he has some expertise in this area.)

He suggested that instead of bringing foreign doctors in as simple landed immigrants, we arrange work visas for them with residency spots in places where we desperately need doctors - say Northern Ontario. They arrive, they get a job in their field immediately, they get to know the Canadian system under the supervision of a Canadian doctor in an underserviced part of the country, and when they apply for landed-immigrant status later, chances are good that they'll stay in the community where they've been practising. They and their families get all the benefits of landed-immigrant status from a properly-constructed work visa, the community in question gets a doctor and a new family, and we don't end up with MD's driving cabs in Toronto. And it can all be done through some paperwork changes - find a bunch of northern doctors who are willing to accept residents, then pair them up with new residents through the consular offices in their countries of origin. It wouldn't cost much to implement.

Whaddya think?