After more than 15 years of helping others as a doctor in his home country of Ukraine, 44-year-old Oleksandr (Alex) Martsiv is now living in Abbotsford, where he works as a welder in order to make ends meet.
While he'd rather be continuing to help save lives here in Canada, Martsiv said he is being held back by the high costs associated with the immigration medical examinations.
Martsiv, his wife, and their seven children first came to Canada in 2022 shortly after the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War, utilizing the Canada–Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel program.
"In Ukraine, we lived in the western part of the country far enough from the war zone, but every day we saw missiles above our heads or just heard them when they flew to destroy cities in the west of Ukraine," Martsiv said. "When they were shot down, they fell near our village, creating large pits in the ground or destroying buildings. We felt unsafe, especially we worried about our kids."
After a six-month visa process to get his whole family over, Martsiv settled in Abbotsford on the recommendation of his wife's brother.
"I am very thankful for Canada's government and Canadians for the possibility to live in a safe place and for the support after arriving in Canada," he said.
Upon arrival in B.C., Martsiv and his wife had to find work quickly in order to support their large family, which meant Martsiv enlisted as a welder's assistant.
This is a far cry from his profession in Ukraine, where he graduated from medical school in 2007 and served for more than a decade as the only doctor for nearly 5,000 people in a rural region of the country.
Martsiv knew that he wouldn't be able to jump right into health care once he arrived in Canada, acknowledging the country's complex certification system for medical professionals to ensure a high quality of care for patients.
He explained that despite the severe lack of doctors and other health-care workers in Canada, many international medical professionals are forced to work in construction, agriculture, or other industries in order to support their families while also saving up money for the certification process.
According to Medical Council of Canada, the current cost associated with international physicians getting licensed to practice in Canada is more than $6,000.
In order to save such a significant chunk of money, Martsiv got licensed as a welder and has been steadily working in this industry, while also trying to dedicate a few hours each night studying for his future medical exams.
While he understands that there needs to be some kind of certification process for international doctors, Martsiv would like to see it made much more accessible given the current lack of physicians in Canada.
"The human body is the same in Canada, Europe, or Asia," Martsiv said. "Health-care systems and languages are different, and it does not take too much time to learn them."
He's not alone in this sentiment either, with Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman putting out the call for B.C. to work with the other provinces to make the process more enticing for any foreign professionals interested in practicing medicine in Canada.
"When it comes to real doctors for hardworking British Columbians, I think we need to use some common sense and make some allowances, especially in a case like Alex," Banman said. "We have a desperate shortage of medical doctors and I think we should move heaven and earth to help him practice in the field in which he's trained."
Banman confirmed that one of the most frequent calls his office gets is from constituents complaining about a lack of family doctors in Abbotsford and the rest of the Lower Mainland.
"I get that there are standards that have to be met, and the exams are a way of ensuring that standards are met, but can the government in this case just not waive the fee so that we can get a desperately needed medical professional back on the front lines helping pay back the country that opened its arms to him and his family?"
Ideally, Banman said he'd like to see all of the provinces and territories come together to agree on a single set of medical testing standards and streamline the process of allowing foreign doctors and nurses to practice in Canada.
"We are sending British Columbians into Washington State for cancer treatment. That's into a for-profit system," Banman said. "You would think that anything we can do to get more professionals on the front line should be done, and you would think that the testing of the doctors should at least be held at a minimum of twice a year, if not more often than that."
He also suggested that the provinces and territories coordinate with each other and stagger the times of the year when these medical tests are held so that someone looking to practice in Canada is able to take the test each month in at least one area of the country.
The Government of B.C. recently announced that it would be fast-tracking credential recognition for U.S. doctors and nurses to try and address the ongoing physician shortage.
Health Minister Josie Osborne said that this is the optimal time to try to recruit American health-care professionals.
"With the uncertainty and chaos happening south of our border, we have an unprecedented opportunity to attract skilled health-care workers interested in moving to Canada," Osborne said.
She further explained that the province is working with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC to allow American-trained doctors to become properly licensed to practice in B.C. without requiring any additional assessments or examinations.
"We’re starting to make significant progress with more people connected to primary care providers in 2024 than ever before. There is still more to be done, and that’s why we are ramping up our efforts to recruit health-care workers from other jurisdictions."
According to the province, more than 1,000 new family doctors have been licensed in B.C. since 2023, with more than 1,200 nurse practitioners also being added since 2018.
