The Ontario government proposed legislation that would ban medical school seats from going to international students to make room for students in Canada.
The aim of the policy is to close the gap of people who are without access to a regular healthcare provider.
Premier Doug Ford made the announcement in Oshawa on Friday, telling reporters that the proposed legislation would see at least 95% of spots go to Ontarians first and have the remaining 5% be filled by students from elsewhere in Canada.
“This has been gnawing at me for years, as my colleagues know,” said Ford, referring to the number of Ontario students who are currently studying medicine abroad.
“What happens? They meet someone and they don’t come back home. There were 18% students from around the world taking our kids’ seats and then not even staying here and then going back to their country. It’s just not right.”
“So now it’s going to be 100% Canadian, 95% Ontario,” said Ford.
According to the Ontario College of Family Physicians, there were 2.5 million Ontarians without access to a family doctor as of July.
Ford also announced several measures to entice Canadian medical students currently studying abroad to return to the province to finish their postgraduate training in Ontario.
“These new actions are designed to ensure Ontario medical schools are training and graduating more doctors, including family doctors that are going to stay in Ontario,” he added.
“We know that if you’re born in Ontario, you’re more than likely to stay and practice in Ontario.
The proposed legislation also includes an estimated $88 million over the next three years to expand Learn and Stay grants for 1,360 eligible undergraduate students who commit to practice family medicine, starting next year.
Ford said he was trying to “backdate” the changes for a year to help current medical students with their debts from medical school.
Ontario is also planning to open two new medical schools, one at Toronto Metropolitan University and the other at York University, adding over 260 undergraduate and 449 residency spots.
Additionally, the government plans to review the visa trainee program responsible for training international students sponsored by foreign governments.
Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones said that Ontario students “need to come first.”
“We are going to prioritize Ontario residents because those are our taxpayers that are paying those students to go to school,” said Jones.
The newly proposed legislation comes on the heels of the Ford government appointing former federal Liberal health minister Jane Philpott to a new role aimed at connecting every Ontarian to primary care over the next five years.
“She’s going to be on the ground fixing that gap,” said Ford.
