In a severe shortage of gastroenterologists, the Laurentians region was d. a year and a half ago.D Aline LeCleac’h So the French medical expert comes to practice here. He completed an adaptation course in the fall. He also received a license to practice at the College of Physicians. However, she has been waiting for several days for Canadian Immigration to renew her work permit.
Meanwhile, the gastroenterologist is twiddling his thumbs in his apartment. “We are being informed that my file has not yet been scanned and processed. The work permit I used during my internship expired on December 4th. So, I am waiting,” she said.
Gastroenterologist in Laurentians, DD Miriam Langlois explains that the region is in dire need of doctors in her specialty. They currently have three to close the Saint-Eustache hospital. “We must be at least seven […] “We probably have the worst waiting list in Quebec,” said DD Langlois.
Thursday morning, the gastroenterologist was seeing patients who hadn’t seen a gastroenterologist in two years.
Long course
DD LeCleac’h did a fellowship in hematology at CHUM between 2014 and 2016. He loved Quebec. In August 2021, when he was examined by colleagues from the Laurentians, the French medical expert agreed to come and settle here.
After taking steps at the College of Physicians, he received an adaptive internship, which he completed between last September and November at CHUM. To do this internship, he received a three-month temporary work permit from Canadian immigration. The document expired on December 4.
During training, on October 22, DD LeCleac’h, however, forwarded his work permit renewal application to Immigration Canada early, as he was instructed to do.
The goal was to quickly process his application once he was licensed to practice.
DD LeCleac’h would eventually learn that Immigration Canada never received the documents in question. “Where did they get lost? We don’t know. But since December 4, she has not been able to work,” said Bloc Québécois MP for the riding of Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, Luc Désilet. need,” he says.
On December 9, DD LeCleac’h again sent his entire file to Immigration Canada to obtain his new work permit.
Considering the urgency of the situation, such requests are usually processed within ten days, he explains. But she is still waiting.
“I know my file hasn’t been digitized yet…”, said DD LeCleac’h. “I’m worried,” she said. Because, unfortunately, if a document is missing from her application file, she will have to resend it and wait a lot longer.
That’s why I sent the file in October. Moving forward…
DD Aline Leegleek’
“Priority Processing”
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) declined to comment on this specific file. But spokeswoman Isabelle Langlois said since the pandemic began, the health sector had “prioritised the demands of workers in essential industries”. “This priority implementation is in place,” he said.
Mme Langlois says processing times for work permit applications have greatly improved, with nearly 700,000 of these permits processed through November 30, 2022, compared to 223,000 during the same period in 2019.
Mme “The time it takes to process an application varies depending on a number of factors, including the type of application submitted, data biometrics (if applicable) and the quality and speed with which applicants respond to IRCC’s requests for additional information (including medical examinations) and the facility to verify information provided by IRCC,” Langlois said.
For DD Langlois, the file must be resolved soon. “We have a medical expert ready to come and help. Who can be given clinical time tomorrow? But who is waiting in his apartment. At the moment, we Laurentians have service failures … it must be resolved as soon as possible,” he insists.
Every day increasing calls Mr. Desilet admits that the file “drags and it’s frustrating.” “There should be priority treatment for these cases. Because, meanwhile, this doctor doesn’t see patients,” he says. The MP still says he has “good faith” that everything will be resolved “soon.”
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