AIPSO Endorses Minister Colle Bill 124

Bill 124 recognizes the need for "transparent, objective, impartial and fair" registration processes. Feedback and transparency are important to help internationally trained doctors (IMDs) make informed decisions about their future.

AIPSO supports Bill 124 and will work with Minister Colle to ensure the fairness commissioner proposed in the bill will be successful in identifying current unfair medical regulatory practices. In addition, AIPSO appreciates the collaborative work with the staff at the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration.

The entry of well qualified IMDs into the Ontario health system will complement and improve the quality of the medical system, as well as help address the severe shortage of doctors in Ontario.

AIPSO thanks the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Mr. Mike Colle, as well as the Premier of Ontario and the Minister of Health for responding to AIPSO concerns regarding the real (and perceived) subjectivity of the selection processes and the lack of an appeal mechanism.

Addressing Lack of Capacity
Being solutions focused, AIPSO proposes the following consideration in context of Bill 124:

Since capacity (number of residencies and assessment spots) will remain a bottleneck problem for the foreseeable future, and the fact that Ontario is critically short of thousands of doctors, AIPSO would appeal for fair and equitable mechanism whereby global experience and international post-graduate training is given credit. Global experience and training is profoundly sought after today, and many doctors trained in similar medical systems have highly transferable skills.

AIPSO appeals to the government to assist the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to find innovative ways to assess global training, and to certify or accredit such training done in other jurisdictions, so that costly, redundant and repetitious training is avoided.