Brampton mayor ‘cautiously optimistic’ after province calls on foreign-trained health-care workers for COVID-19 help

Yorkregion.com
April 9, 2020
Graeme Firsque

The Ontario Government launched a new health-care worker matching web portal just hours after Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown held a press conference Tuesday (April 7) calling on the province to consider enlisting internationally trained doctors and nurses to help battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Brown told the Brampton Guardian that, while he was encouraged by the province’s announcement, he’s holding back his full support until more details are released about the program.

“I’m cautiously optimistic. It’s encouraging. I just hope it truly includes physicians,” he said. “The last time they opened it up 1,800 applied and 12 got through.”

“Your government should examine the feasibility and need to utilize our pool of foreign trained health-care professions" wrote the mayor in a letter sent to Ontario Minister of Health Christine Elliott following the press conference.

"According to the HealthForceOntario Marketing and Recruitment Agency, there are 13,000 foreign-educated doctors and 6,000 foreign-educated nurses whose expertise can assist the province at this time. I believe many of them live in Brampton!”

The Ontario Ministry of Health (MOH) said the new program and application portal --which can be found here --is open to internationally educated health-care workers such as doctors and nurses but didn’t specify in which roles they might be employed during the pandemic.

“The portal will enable a range of different care providers, including retired or non-active health-care providers, internationally educated health-care providers and students, to assist with the province’s response to COVID-19,” said the MOH in an email.

“All those in the health-care field are being encouraged to register so their skills can be matched with an employer. All health-care employers are encouraged to input job postings so they can fill critical roles.”

The ministry added: “This new portal will help match retired or non-active health-care providers (such as physicians and nurses) that have returned to practice with employers who need to backfill other providers.

"Students in medical, nursing, personal support worker and other health provider programs who are nearing the end of training can volunteer.”

The idea of enlisting foreign-trained health-care workers was first suggested publicly by Brampton wards 7 and 8 Coun. Charmaine Williams on March 23. Brown joined Williams at a Tuesday morning phone-in press conference calling on the province to consider the idea.

“Ontario and Canada (have) thousands of foreign-trained doctors who have been denied the right to practise medicine here. Now Canadians are paying the price with a shortage of doctors to help us in this emergency,” said Williams in a release.

“I know some will say they are not qualified. But in Montreal, Mexico City, or Mumbai the brain, the heart, and the lungs work the same way. If doctors from these cities pass the same exam process in Canada, they should be recruited to help us battle this pandemic,” she added.

The Region of Peel had reported 684 confirmed cases as of 10 a.m. on April 8 including 270 in Brampton, 378 in Mississauga, 33 in Caledon and another three pending further information.

To date, nine people have died as a result of the COVID-19 in Peel Region.