Foreign nurses recruitment program in Quebec plagued by major flaws, internal report reveals

Foreign nurses recruited to Quebec done a provincial authorities programme faced "major obstacles" upon their arrival, including a deficiency of housing, kid attraction and transportation, according to an interior report.

A rigorous grooming schedule, civilization daze and fearfulness of nonaccomplishment caused terrible accent among the recruits, says the study produced by the province's Immigration Department. It suggests they were not decently informed astir the demands of the programme oregon the world of beingness successful Quebec.

The $65-million initiative, announced successful 2022, aims to bring 1,500 overseas nurses to Quebec by 2028 to enactment successful regions of the state with acute nursing shortages. Candidates person grooming astatine inferior colleges, funded by the government, and are paid $500 a week.

But the November 2024 study connected the archetypal signifier of the program, obtained done Quebec's entree to accusation law, paints an representation of a poorly organized task that failed to hole overseas nurses for what to expect erstwhile they uprooted their lives to travel to Canada.

"Early successful the motorboat of Phase 1, large obstacles were encountered successful getting participants settled," the study says.

"In astir regions, task participants had to woody with issues that analyzable their integration, and which whitethorn person had a antagonistic interaction connected their afloat participation."

One caregiver who spoke to The Canadian Press astir the programme said helium didn't cognize what helium was getting into earlier leaving his location state successful Africa successful June 2023. He spoke connected information of anonymity for fearfulness of repercussions.

He said the Quebec authorities described the programme arsenic "refresher training," and helium didn't expect the heavy, months-long course-load designed to bring overseas nurses' acquisition successful enactment with Quebec standards. He had received his nursing diploma from his location state successful 2019.

"We were treated similar children," helium said. "The close accusation wasn't fixed to us."

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The interior study cites respective problems getting the nurses settled into assorted regions of Quebec, often acold from the province's municipality centres. Finding affordable lodging was a challenge, particularly for those arriving with up to 5 children successful tow. A deficiency of recognition past enactment them astatine a further disadvantage, the study says.

In the Gaspé region, modular units were yet built to location immoderate overseas nurses.

A deficiency of daycare spots forced the spouses of immoderate recruits to enactment location to attraction for the children. Moreover, galore of the regions don't person extended nationalist transit, meaning the nurses had to get Quebec driver's licences and bargain cars — an unexpected disbursal for some.

"These issues ... highlighted the value of presenting an honorable representation of the costs and challenges associated with surviving successful Quebec," the study says, noting that galore participants recovered themselves successful a financially precarious situation.

The authorities ended up spending astir $16 cardinal connected the archetypal signifier of the program, oregon astir $77,000 for each of the 207 nurses recruited.

"For the beingness of me, I don't recognize wherefore these issues were not decently considered erstwhile this programme was developed," said Fo Niemi, enforcement manager of the Center for Research-Action connected Race Relations, a Montreal-based civilian rights organization.

Nurses conflict to find jobs aft training, says Niemi

The reappraisal besides noted difficulties with the grooming programme itself, which lasts astir 9 to 14 months, pointing retired that the labour shortage successful the health-care strategy made it hard to find teachers and internship supervisors.

It besides recovered that students experienced aggravated accent astir the imaginable of failure. If recruits neglect 1 course, they're
expelled from the programme and suffer entree to fiscal support, including the part-time enactment arsenic orderlies that is included successful the program.

In theory, they tin re-enroll, but portion they hold for the courses to beryllium offered again, they're not allowed to enactment — a concern that tin past for months.

The caregiver who spoke to The Canadian Press failed an internship constituent of the programme successful June 2024. He was capable to re-enroll successful January, but successful the interim, helium had to get wealth from friends to wage rent and bargain groceries.

He said the consequences of nonaccomplishment had not been made wide earlier his arrival.

If he'd known however the programme worked earlier coming to Canada, helium said, helium wouldn't person near home.

"I'm not happy," helium said. "In [my location country], astatine slightest determination was family, determination were my brothers and sisters. ... But that's not the lawsuit here. I person nary wealth to nonstop oregon bash thing due to the fact that the wealth I person is for groceries."

Niemi said immoderate nurses conflict to find jobs adjacent aft they implicit their training. He said helium heard from a enlistee successful 1 portion that "people don't privation to beryllium served by Black nurses."

In effect to the access-to-information request, the authorities besides released reports from each of the inferior colleges that participated successful the archetypal signifier of the program. The documents item a litany of challenges, including a dense workload and an intensive grooming docket that galore recruits recovered overwhelming.

The colleges observed that galore of the overseas nurses experienced civilization shock, and immoderate had occupation adapting to the vocabulary and accent of French spoken successful Quebec.

One assemblage noted that discussions astir termination and aesculapian assistance successful dying "created affectional and ethical tensions" for immoderate students.

The recruits for the archetypal signifier of the programme came from Algeria, Cameroon, Morocco, Tunisia and Mauritius.

"The fast-paced world situation and the far-reaching consequences of nonaccomplishment enactment a batch of accent connected the students," the authorities study says.

Despite the challenges, astir overseas nurses bash marque it done the grooming program.

Xavier Daffe-Bordeleau, a spokesperson for the Immigration Department, said that arsenic of the extremity of February, 867 radical had successfully completed the "refresher training," including much than 90 per cent of students successful the archetypal 2 phases.

The 5th signifier of the programme is presently underway, and the authorities hopes to conscionable its people of recruiting 1,500 nurses by 2028.

The spokesperson besides said that astir students successful consequent phases received an connection of lodging earlier arriving successful Canada.

"Building connected the acquisition gained successful erstwhile cohorts, our efforts to travel radical from overseas for respective months anterior to their accomplishment person helped to minimize the pitfalls associated with settling in," Daffe-Bordeleau said successful an email statement.

The bureau of Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge did not respond to requests from The Canadian Press for comment.