Having worked in the medical profession in both Canada and abroad, I have come to the conclusion that Canada, the second-largest country in the world (in geographic terms), is too small to have separate medical licensing boards for each province and territory.
Let me explain. Prospective medical students in Canada compete for all the first-year medical school slots across Canada. Of those accepted, the vast majority finish medical school by writing the examinations for the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC). They then compete for the available internship positions, and many go on to do advanced training, eventually writing the Canada-wide examinations of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC).
The net result is a pool of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of highly qualified Canadian physicians who might like to practise or do locums in some of the more remote areas of our vast country. But they have to get a licence for each province or territory where they might want to do a locum.
One country, one LMCC credential, one RCPSC, and one Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA), but 13 licensing bodies (colleges) — it's time to clean up our act.
Here is my proposal. If a physician has a valid medical licence to practise in any province or territory of Canada, along with a clean bill of conduct and CMPA coverage, he or she should be allowed to do locums anywhere in Canada without further licensing requirements.