MISSING IN ACTION: CANADA, THE "B" MOVIE
WHAT KIND OF "COLLEGE" GOES OUT OF ITS WAY TO KEEP PEOPLE OUT?
WHY "PROFESSIONAL COLLEGES," OF COURSE.
Currently there is a fight making the front pages in Vancouver between the professional veterinarians' association and an Indo-Canadian group of vets. While that melodrama has its moments, what is much more interesting is how this struggle highlights an on-going problem in the workforce these days across Canada.
Every province in the country is crying for more doctors, nurses, teachers and other highly skilled and crucial workers.
Yet, there are thousands of apparently qualified doctors, nurses, teachers and others sorting vegetables, waiting tables and driving cabs in Vancouver, Toronto and every other Canadian population centre. You see, these people are immigrants. They come mostly from Asia - China, India, the Philippines.
One friend of mine comes from Shanghai. He is an oncologist and a practitioner of Chinese medicine. He has been here for several years and is now a proud, if underemployed, Canadian citizen. You see, he still hasn't qualified to be a doctor in Canada. And believe me, he has tried. He has jumped through all the known hoops.
Tell me something. In this age of DNA, the Internet, the fax machine, YouTube, MySpace, and the universal telephone number, how long should it take to determine if Alex Chang (fictitious name)is or is not really a doctor? One day? One hour?
What is keeping us from adding these wonderful human resources to our professional rosters? The College of Physicians and Surgeons, the College of Nurses, the College of Teachers, that's what. Each of these moribund institutions claims that it exists for the benefit of the public. "We are here to guard and guarantee public safety," is their mantra.
The truth is that they exist entirely to guard the status quo, that they are a sure impediment to progress, and that governments across the land should either regulate them or disband them.
Either these "Colleges" will find creative ways to expedite the integration of highly skilled immigrants into the Canadian workforce or they should go the way of the Dodo Bird.
Your thoughts?
