Quebec wants to continue recruiting nursing staff abroad, but will no longer seek them from certain countries, such as Morocco and Cameroon, in response to international pressure.
Over the past two years, Quebec has recruited around 1,000 nurses in Africa, particularly in Cameroon, Morocco, and Ivory Coast.
To date, the $65 million program has generated such enthusiasm that the government wants to recruit 235 additional candidates abroad to fill its labor needs.
However, Radio-Canada has learned that recruitment is being stopped in all African countries, except Tunisia. And this is for ethical reasons.
“In an approach of ethical recruitment and respect for local populations, the promotion targeted countries whose governments have authorized Quebec’s recruitment actions..”
– A quote from MIFI Spokesperson
According to our information, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Morocco are no longer among Quebec’s recruitment destinations.
Morocco has asked to exclude state nurses from our recruitment activities from the second quarter of 2024, an instruction that we have respected. Some African countries have asked us to limit hiring in 2024, a request that we have also respected, confirms by email a spokesperson for the Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI).
As the MIFI spokesperson explains, countries cite the high cost of training, borne by them, to train their health professionals, as well as the risks associated with the lack of manpower (present or future) to meet their own national needs.
For other countries, it was Quebec that unilaterally decided to limit or stop recruiting so as not to expose the local population to health risks, despite the high unemployment rate observed in the health sector in these same countries, it was added.
The Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Canada said it was satisfied with the decision of the Quebec government.
In acting in this way, it seems to me that Quebec has truly made a thoughtful, fair, ethical and equitable decision.
– A quote fromSouriya Otmani, Ambassador
Nurses from Morocco […] leave their country in their hundreds, even thousands, every year to go to Canada, Europe, or Arab countries, the diplomat emphasizes.
Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to Canada
According to Ms. Otmani, clinics are built, and equipped, but cannot operate because of a lack of medical and nursing staff. The lives of thousands of people are at stake.
International pressures
It must be said that Quebec has been criticized since the launch of its vast nursing recruitment program in February 2022.
Last year, for example, the World Health Organization (WHO) compiled a list of the 55 countries with the most serious health workforce problems to alert Western nations and call on them to protect vulnerable health systems.
According to WHO data, Cameroon has 1.9 nurses per 10,000 inhabitants, while Quebec has nearly a hundred.
One in ten African nurses is said to work outside the continent.
Corridor discussions at the International Nurses Congress in Montreal (New window) in July 2023 focused largely on international recruitment from wealthy countries such as Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
“We’ve heard a lot of discussion […] about recruitment in Africa and the need for each country to become self-sufficient,” said Lisa Little, first vice president of the International Council of Nurses.
Lisa Little, First Vice President of the International Council of Nurses
In an interview with Radio-Canada, Ms. Little welcomed Quebec’s decision to no longer recruit in countries like Cameroon.
This is exactly the kind of action and thinking that we hope to see from countries as they move toward what we call ethical recruitment.
– Lisa Little, First Vice President of the International Council of Nurses
Little said the first step is to stop recruiting from countries on the WHO safeguard list, including Cameroon and Ivory Coast. We need to stop recruiting from all 55 countries [on the list], 37 of which are in Africa.
Other Canadian provinces should also stop recruiting nurses from the Philippines, says the first vice-president of the International Council of Nurses.
Philippine nursing associations and members of the Philippine Department of Health are publicly stating that recruiting from their country should stop, she says.
Recruiting in the Gulf countries
However, some destinations remain on Quebec’s agenda for recruiting nurses abroad.
Prospecting, attraction, and recruitment activities took place in Tunisia, Lebanon, and the Gulf countries, said the MIFI spokesperson, particularly in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar.
The office of the Minister of Immigration, Jean-François Roberge, recalls that the nurse recruitment project was launched to meet significant personnel needs in the health network.
Recruitment activities are carried out in compliance with established standards, notably by the International Labour Organization, as well as in a spirit of sharing and collaboration […] we are confident of reaching the recruitment target for the fifth phase of the project.
Becoming self-sufficient
Hit by a shortage of healthcare workers in recent years, Quebec has turned abroad to fill its needs with a historic mission in 2021 to recruit more than 4,000 healthcare workers abroad.
Over the past two years, the vast majority of the 500 aspiring nurses recruited in Africa have completed their additional training and are working in the health network.
Since 2017, Recruitment santé Québec, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Health and Social Services, has attracted more than 1,900 workers, including nurses, orderlies, and midwives, who come from 24 countries in Africa, South America, and Europe.
