Tuition fees at Canada's 16 medical schools have risen by an average of 9.9% for the 2001/02 academic year, Statistics Canada reports. The increase is the highest among all monitored programs. The new fees will average $6654, compared with $6057 last year; they have roughly doubled in the past 5 years. Ontario's 5 schools have the highest average fees ($11 546). The University of Toronto and University of Western Ontario have the country's highest fees, at more than $14 000 annually, while Quebec has the lowest ($2267).
Statistics Canada says medical school fees are second only to those charged to dental students, which will average $8491 this academic year, an increase of 7.8%; the average fee for law students is $4355.
The increases worry professional associations, and 8 of them, including the CMA, have responded by creating the National Professional Association Coalition on Tuition to fight them. The coalition presented a position paper to the Commons Standing Committee on Finance last year, warning that high fees “create socioeconomic barriers” to professional programs. In an interview, coalition Chair Bill Easton of the CMA said the latest increase doesn't reflect the actual size of the hikes, particularly in Ontario. “The increases since Ontario deregulated tuition fees total more than 100% over 5 years, and I worry that this will metastasize across the country. In Canada we are rapidly approaching a situation in which we have medical education only for the affluent.”