It is widely known that there is a shortage of physicians in Canada. The doctor shortage is not an accident, however and it was not unforeseen. It was engineered, planned in order to cut costs for the medical system—if there are fewer doctors, there are fewer people to order expensive medical operations, after all.
That’s why there are so few spots in medical schools, and why I currently don’t have a doctor, and when I talk to anyone in the medical system about trying to get one, the most helpful thing I’ve been told is “good luck,” and “in the meantime, go to the McGill walk-in clinic and hope there isn’t much of a line-up.”
Now that there’s an election going on, I would seriously like to know what each of the political parties has to say about opening new spots in medical schools, and doing something about the doctor shortage. Has any of them made this a significant part of their platform? I’ve only been reading what the CBC puts in their RSS feed on the election stuff.
I would also like to see the number of spots they plan to open I think they added less then 10 the last time they promised an increase.