Facing a shortage of health workers, mostly nurses, the Province of Quebec is now on the headhunt for staff from French-speaking countries outside Canada, namely Lebanon, France, Belgium, and northern Africa countries, but also Brazil.
Recruitment missions have started in the mentioned countries, a spokesperson of the Health Ministry, Marjorie Larouche, made the announcement, noting that there are currently 4,000 job openings in the health sector across Quebec.
CSQ, the centralized agency that handles international recruitment, has received these mandates from 28 health and social services establishments, with the majority seeking nurses, as well as medical physicists, social workers, and speech therapists.
The reason behind that significant demand in Quebec for health workers from overseas is related to the vaccine mandate, which will suspend the unvaccinated nurses as of Friday.
However, that number could be higher.
Before the mandate, Quebec was already facing a shortage of nurses. During the past month, health minister Christian Dubé stated several times that Quebec’s shortage of nurses amounts to 4,000.
With the vaccine mandate coming into effect this Friday, that number will be higher.
It remains that the process of recruitment has some obstacles to deal with.
Most importantly is the recognition of international diplomas in the province. The process is notorious for being challenging and long, and particularly strict when it comes to the credentials of foreign nurses.
Larouche indicated that the process still has to take into consideration “the feasibility of the administrative immigration procedures and the recognition of the diploma.”
With Lebanon’s health sector under the duress of the multiple crises in the country, Lebanese nurses might find the need of Quebec as a good opportunity for them to work in a country with more favorable living conditions and respectable salaries.
