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illustration by Catherine Lauigan

Poaching Foreign Doctors

Do our development and immigration policies amount to foreign aid in reverse?

by Larry Krotz

illustration by Catherine Lauigan

Published in the June 2008 issue.  » BUY ISSUE     

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Canada provided $3.7 billion in foreign aid in 2005–2006, mostly through cida. It is a far cry from the 0.7% of gdp that Prime Minister Pearson long ago established as our goal, but what is equally lamentable is the hypocrisy of one arm of government, cida, sending aid for medical purposes to Third World countries, while another arm, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, encourages the skilled health care professionals from those countries to emigrate to Canada.

The choice for Canada appears clear: recruit more foreign health care professionals, or train more of our own. Given that the per-student cost to governments of undergraduate medical school education is upwards of half a million dollars, it would appear unlikely that there will be a dramatic increase in class sizes. As some have asked, what is the point of expensive training if you can get somebody else to do it for you?

The global choice is either to find ways to reduce the drain of medical professions from strapped Third World countries, or watch as half the world continues to become much worse off than it already is. In order to reduce foreign recruiting, Ronald Labonté believes Canada needs to follow Britain’s lead: ensure it is training its own supply of health care professionals. In the meantime, on the issue of compensation he agrees with Keith Martin. The problem, however, is that such compensation systems would only truly work under multilateral agreements — of which, presently, there are none. If Canada, for instance, paid for the training of two doctors in South Africa in return for receiving a fully trained South African doctor, what guarantee would it have that its new doctor would stay here, or that the two doctors trained in South Africa wouldn’t move elsewhere? Thus, while Labonté asks rhetorically, “Could Canada play a role?” and answers, “Well, somebody needs to start,” ultimately only a multinational approach will solve the vexing problem of foreign aid in reverse as it pertains to health care.

Larry Krotz writes about the relationship between Africans and peacekeepers in The Uncertain Business of Doing Good: Outsiders in Africa, which will be published in fall 2008

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Comments (4 comments)

Rob Hughes: Dear Sir
I found this a stimulating and challenging article full of interesting ideas for the way we are developing as a world today. Whilst some see the world with open access this appears to be for the few perhaps like Larry. Should we curtail the aspirations of the individual, with their human rights, over fairness for all? There are reasonable arguments on both sides. Probably we are in a transitional phase where if it were to run it's course without control, we might have an egalitarian world in the end. However the pain and suffering that woud be created before this were to evolve, is not necessarily acceptable. September 26, 2008 03:30 EST

jamaica: This brain drain is really causing a problem in Jamaica where they are in need of more doctors, teachers and nursses but most of them leave for foreign jobs as soon as they finish school. November 09, 2008 07:16 EST

nike dunk :


Dust off
your old sneakers



Do you own an
old pair of Nike’s or Adidas shoes?  Were you ever into playing sports like
basketball or skateboarding, or into Hip Hop music?  Were you born around 1970? 
If you answered yes to all of these questions, then you could already guess what
this is about.  Even if the answer was no to the last question, then you’re
still on page because most people these days understand the significance behind
Nike, Adidas, and the Sports and Music industry.  And if your not, then you will
now.




They say that it was the Nike Dunk that started it all off.  In 1985,
Nike brought out the Nike Dunk.  Originally these sneakers meant for the
college community of basketball players.  Instead, this style of sports shoes
started the sneaker sub-culture.   Although this style of sneaker was designed
to be used during high intensity basketball games, the spotlight quickly turned
to the fashion of wearing them, what they looked like, and which ones you
owned.  Twenty years later, Nike has brought the Nike Dunk back on the
courts with all its retro style and performance.
But why stop
with basketball shoes?  In 2000, Nike decided to jump into the skateboarding
scene with the new Nike Skateboarding product line. 



With Nike SB
has come the Nike Dunk SB.  For years, before skateboarding came out from
the underground scene, skateboarders utilized the rugged design of basketball
shoes.  Nike decided to capitalize on what Vans and DC shoes had been
monopolizing for years, and take what was already an amazing sneaker, and fit it
into the needs of skateboarders.  What the Nike Dunk SB brought in the
way of performance was extra-padded tongue and their patented Zoom Air insole.
In the way of style, this sneaker has already come out with six series, and
names for them like Grip, Forbes, and Vipers.



Another blast
from the past would be the Nike Air Force 1.  These sneakers first came
out in the early 80’s.  And like the hip hop culture, their popularity grew. 
However, this band did not reach their full fashion peek until 2002 when Nelly
released the song “Air Force Ones”. 



The other major
sports shoe brand is the Adicolor Shoes, an Adidas Original.  The design
became so popular because the plain white canvas was adaptable by painting,
drawing, and spraying on your own personal design, and even accessories were
sold to help you in your creativity.  In 2006 they pushed the envelope further
with a new color series using artists and designers from all over the world.




Another huge sneaker that was popular with the hip hop world was the
Adidas
Superstar.  A very raw and controversial Hip Hop group that helped skyrocket
the Adidas Superstar to stardom was Run-D.M.C. This cutting edge group was known
for wearing their Superstars out on stage, and even wrote a song dedicated to
them called “My Adidas”.  Whether its Nike or Adidas, clean out that closet,
dust off your old sneakers, and get into the game. 


December 29, 2008 20:26 EST

nike dunk sb:
share our story:

A insomnia frog
A Joyful party
Bear in eggs
Big alligator
Birds and bear
Carving and desert
Chickens and ducks
Clever crow
Crystal ball's dream
Hungry fox
Mom's birthday
Only one goal
Piglets temper
Small white and black pig
The camel is angry
The old dog
The poor and the rich
Broken dreams
The little princess
Dance bear
spring
The little princess
Three rats
A selfish giant


December 29, 2008 20:36 EST

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