Communities in northern Ontario getting calls from Quebec doctors looking to relocate
CBC
A physician recruiter from a small francophone community in northeastern Ontario says she’s already fielding calls from Quebec doctors who want to leave the province.
“I have a bunch of meetings [with Quebec doctors] lined up next week,” said Melanie Goulet, a co-ordinator with the Hearst Medical Recruitment Alliance.
Goulet said a lot of early interest from Quebec doctors is for them to work as locums — doctors that travel to small rural communities for a short time to fill in for family physicians, emergency room doctors and specialists.
The sudden interest from Quebec doctors to practice in northern Ontario comes from the passing of Bill 2, a piece of legislation that takes effect in the new year, and will link compensation to performance targets relating to the number of patients in their roster.
The legislation would also impose fines of up to $20,000 per day on doctors who take "concerted action" to challenge the government's policies.
“I think many physicians across Canada view this as being very short-sighted,” said Dr. Doug Arnold, a family physician in Timmins, Ont., and chief of staff at the Timmins and District Hospital.
“And I think you're seeing the backlash from the physicians as they will walk with their feet.”
Since Oct. 23 more than 260 Quebec physicians applied to work in Ontario with the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Arnold said physician recruiters in Timmins have already heard from more than a dozen doctors in Quebec who have asked about opportunities there.
He said the city needs more than 30 physicians to meet current needs.
Because around half the population in Timmins speaks French, and it’s the primary language for around 30 per cent of residents, Arnold said the city is a natural fit for Quebec doctors.
Dr. Sarah Newbery, a family physician in the northwestern Ontario town of Marathon, and associate dean of physician and workforce strategy at NOSM University, said the exodus of doctors in Quebec is unprecedented.
"I've been a practicing clinician for 29 years. I have never seen that degree of frustration, and frankly, sort of exodus from a particular place,” she said.
Newbery said the closest comparison is a recent exodus of doctors in the United States because of the policies of the Trump administration.
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