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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 $500,000 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.”
By mid-November 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.
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.
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.
“We are also seeing a similar shift of American physicians, particularly those who may work in transgender health, women’s health, who have active research careers in those areas,” she said.
To work in Ontario, out-of-province doctors apply with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. If they want to practice at an Ontario hospital they must also go through a local credentialing process.
The process can take a couple of months, and Newbery said physicians from certain countries — the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and the United States — can get licensed in Ontario just as quickly as out-of-province doctors.
In Greater Sudbury, northern Ontario’s largest city, there is an ongoing campaign to attract physicians from across Canada.
Ryan Huemiuk, a business development officer with the city who helps recruit physicians, won’t say if they’ve heard from any Quebec doctors.
“We have opportunities and we’re looking to fill them,” said Humeniuk.
“If they’re coming from Quebec or if they’re coming from Manitoba, or wherever, we are here to support.”
Dr. Pankaj Bhatia, chief of staff at the Health Sciences North hospital in Sudbury, said the hospital is the second largest health services provider in Canada with a French-language designation.
“I think what that offers is the ability to provide care in both languages and to care for a very large population of francophones that both reside within the Greater Sudbury area as well as within the region,” he said.
