Health

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Health (HESA) met on November 18, 2025, to study the international accreditation of internationally trained health professionals and their integration into the Canadian health care system. Appearing as witnesses were Louise Baird, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy, Department of Citizenship and Immigration; Greg Orencsak, Deputy Minister, Department of Health; and Soyoung Park, Assistant Deputy Minister, Economic Programs, Department of Citizenship and Immigration. The ministers of Health and Immigration also appeared.

Louise Baird explained that Quebec sets its own immigration levels plan, which has been lower than its allowed demographic weight under the 1991 Canada-Quebec Accord, resulting in an oversubscription and longer processing times for applicants wishing to go to Quebec. She noted that IRCC works with Quebec to modify regulations in parallel with Quebec's own changes to increase French-language ability in the province.

Greg Orencsak stated that provincial and territorial licensing bodies are responsible for credentialling physicians and other health professionals, and that federal funding has helped create national registries of physicians to enable information exchange among regulators. He clarified that approximately 60% of the 198,000 internationally educated health professionals employed in Canada are working in the fields they were trained for.

Soyoung Park confirmed that from January to September 2025, 33% fewer people submitted an asylum claim in Canada compared to the previous year. She also stated that IRCC does not track the employment status of permanent residents after admission, as they have all the rights and privileges of any permanent resident.

A motion was moved to summon Dr. Meredith Giuliani, associate dean for postgraduate medical education at the University of Toronto's faculty of medicine, to appear for one hour in person within two weeks, citing that representatives had refused three separate invitations. The motion was adopted by a vote of 5 to 4.