Skip to Main Content
You are now in the main content area

*In April 2022, the university announced our new name of Toronto Metropolitan University, which will be implemented in a phased approach. Learn more about our next chapter.*

TMCIS Lunch & Learn - Maximizing Medical Talent: Ready Solutions for Canada’s Healthcare Crisis

Date
March 05, 2025
Time
12:00 PM EST - 1:30 PM EST
Location
Hybrid (Online via Zoom & In-person at the CERC/TMCIS Office, located in the Toronto Eaton Centre Galleria Office at 220 Yonge Street, Suite 204)
Contact
tmcis@torontomu.ca

This event was hosted by the Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement (TMCIS) and co-convened by Dr. Zhixi Zhuang, Academic Director of TMCIS, and the Honourable Ratna Omidvar, former Senator and Immigration Policy Fellow at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Description: 

Canada is facing a severe healthcare crisis. More than six million Canadians currently lack a family physician, demonstrating an urgent need for innovative solutions in the healthcare system. Could International Medical Graduates (IMGs) be key to addressing this shortage? Panellists examined the potential of utilizing the expertise of IMGs in Canada to help close the healthcare gap and discuss the challenges that come with implementing seemingly practical solutions and how they may be resolved.

Discussions explored systemic barriers that keep qualified doctors out of our health system and how we can reshape healthcare in Canada by rethinking how we utilize the skilled professionals already at our doorstep. 

Moderator:

The Honourable Ratna Omidvar - Former Canadian Senator and Immigration Policy Fellow, Toronto Metropolitan University 

Panellists:

The Honourable Senator Dr. Stan Kutcher (external link)  - Canadian Senator for Nova Scotia and internationally renowned psychiatrist

Kareem El-Assal (external link)  - Principal of El-Assal Insights and author of over 500 immigration publications

Dr. Therese Bichay (external link)  - Experienced general practitioner, leader and volunteer with the Internationally Trained Physicians of Ontario (ITPO) (external link) 

Dr. Ishrat Saberin (external link) - Internationally trained physician (ITP), ITPO PAR team member (external link) , research fellow with EBM Connect Canada, and Teaching Scholar Candidate at SickKids

Additional Reading:

Report titled ' (PDF file) Maximizing Medical Talent: How Canada can increase the supply of family doctors by 50% quickly and cost-effectively (external link) ', co-authored by the Honourable Stan Kutcher, the Honourable Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia, the Honourable Ratna Omidvar and Kareem El-Assal.

TMCIS occupies space in the traditional and unceded territory of nations including the Anishnaabeg, the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples, and territory which is also now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. This territory is covered by Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit, as well as the Williams Treaties signed with multiple Mississaugas.