It's a good thing the Liberals gave themselves a raise. This is what they've done to deserve it.

RUEZ. The reason there is a shortage of Doctors in the North Central Interior, is because most Doctors do not want to practice here. It has nothing to do with the Government.

Years ago the Government tried to set up a system that would require doctors to practice where they were needed, however this was seen as being against their rights and freedoms and the project failed.

It takes more that money to get people to practice in the North, it has always been a problem, and guess what?? It will always be a problem.

Perhaps recognizing other countries doctor degrees {with equal or better education} and helping/easing with the immigration process might solve the void!? Many Europeans are looking to get away from the big city rat race and would love to live in a remote town that is surrounded by such high outdoor values as Fort St.. James has.

Best Regards

Mooseman has a valid point.
There ARE doctors willing to work up here but they are not certified in Canada.
We need to fix that problem fast.
In fact,it should have already been done!
Palopu is also correct.
Why would a doctor want to parctice up in Fort St.James or other small communities throughout the area if he didn't have to?
Lousy facilities,a shortage of nurses,specialists etc.makes for pretty tough slogging.
High incedent rates of fetal alcohol syndrome,alcoholism and drug related disorders, and a host of other repetitive illnesses.
And the only place most of this can be treated to any degree is in Prince George or sometimes Vanderhoof if they get lucky.
Couple that with a lack of entertainment,shopping and quality housing, and no way they are coming north!
If you are not into the outdoor kind of lifestyle it all gets old really fast.
Can we really blame them?

I agree with Mooseman and Andyfreeze. It is too difficult for foreign doctors to obtain licenses here. It is true that medical degrees from some countries are not up to snuff, but surely we can distinguish those from the Western European countries, the US, Japan, and so forth where medical education is just fine. I remember just a year or two ago there was a doctor willing to come to Prince George who couldn't come because of licensing issues. I don't remember her name, but she had a Vietnamese name. Her degrees were from top-notch US schools and she was board-certified in her specialty. The idea that she wasn't just as qualified as a physician trained in Canada is absurd.

I agree with Mooseman and Andyfreeze. It is too difficult for foreign doctors to obtain licenses here. It is true that medical degrees from some countries are not up to snuff, but surely we can distinguish those from the Western European countries, the US, Japan, and so forth where medical education is just fine. I remember just a year or two ago there was a doctor willing to come to Prince George who couldn't come because of licensing issues. I don't remember her name, but she had a Vietnamese name. Her degrees were from top-notch US schools and she was board-certified in her specialty. The idea that she wasn't just as qualified as a physician trained in Canada is absurd.

I beleive that there are only a limited number of people who can go to University in British Columbia and become Doctors each year. So we have a limited number of doctors graduating each year and going into business.

If we were to allow Doctors from other countries to practice in BC in a very short period of time we would have more than sufficient doctors, and guess what.
The income per doctor will go down in direct proportion to the number of doctors practicing.

We have similiar situations with other professions.

Professional people have the best closed shop unions going and they ensure that their interests are looked after first.

Canadian Doctors in effect have a license to print money, why would they want to share this privelege with other doctors from around the world.???

When was the last time any patient in Canada saw a bill from a Doctor, or has any idea what it costs every time they go to a doctor, or have an operation. This information seems to be privy to the Government and the Doctors, however the patients (taxpayers) do not have a clue as to how much it costs. If some people knew maybe they would go to the doctor less.

I'm not convinced we are yet at the point where we need the London 8 moving to Fort St James. I think it is a little early for that kind of fatalism.

I have a cousin with straight A's and would make a very good doctor. She applied for the new positions in PG at UNBC. She didn't get in the first time, but maybe the next time. There are many more by the hundreds just like her. They would all like to be doctors in the communities they grew up in and have the brains to do it.

The limiting bottleneck is not a lack of willing and capable students who want to work in the north, but rather an education system that will allow them to do that through access.

The idea of poaching doctors from other needy countries based on a superiority complex of two classes of needy peoples, simply because we do not have the will to finance the access to the training of our own should be reprehensible to any common sense thinking person. IMO Shame on the doctor poachers….

Most foreigners are not "the London 8".

As for poaching from less developed countries, that is a complex issue. Where those countries have the jobs for their graduates, we shouldn't be draining them away. On the other hand, in quite a few cases the jobs and infrastructure simply don't exist so doctors, scientists, and other professionals from less developed countries often can't work in their professions at home or can't do so effectively. In this case, it doesn't hurt their country to hire them here.

Another point to note is that there is overproduction of doctors in countries like the United States. I don't think that we need feel guilty about hiring physicians from the US.

In the long term, yes, we need to train more people locally, and there has been progress in that regard, but in the short term we need more doctors and have to hire them from somewhere.

Chandermando. Your Cousin didnt get in because there are only I beleive 125 spaces available each year at UBC for Doctors in British Columbia. I could be wrong but it is somewhere in that area.

With the acute shortage of Doctors you would think that we would train as many as possible as fast as possible. Money would not be a problem as we are one of the richest Provinces in Canada and certainly could afford it. So money and training is not the problem. So what is it??

The Medical Association in conjunction with the Provincial Government and the University of BC only allow a limited number per year. You tell me why. Cost is a smoke screen. Job security and protected income is a more likely reason.

Professionals are not going to have hundreds of doctors around to drive down their incomes, its as simple as that.