On October 23, 2025, CASN President-Elect, Rani Srivastava, was invited to The House of Commons (HOC)’ Standing Committee on Health (HESA) as a representative of CASN to appear as part of a panel of witnesses in view of its study of the Impact of Immigration Policy on Healthcare and Barriers to Integrating Internationally Trained Professionals set out in the following HOC motion:
Motion of October 24, 2024 – That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study on the impact of the federal government’s immigration policy to healthcare and the barriers preventing the integration of internationally educated health professionals into the Canadian healthcare system.
- A video recording from the meeting (HESA Meeting No.7 – Standing Committee on Health) can be accessed here: https://parlvu.parl.gc.ca/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20241202/-1/43754 Rani’s witness report occurs between 11:12:47-11:18:04.
In her brief to the HOC CIMM chair, Hon. Hedy Fry, Dr. Srivastava emphasized the urgent need to integrate internationally educated nurses (IENs) into Canada’s health care system to address the severe nursing shortage. She highlighted that nursing vacancies have tripled in five years and nearly 40% of nurses plan to leave or retire within a year. Srivastava identified two major barriers for IENs—regulatory complexity and workplace integration—and called for a national strategy focused on three areas: streamlining licensure processes, ensuring quality bridging education, and providing robust workplace integration supports. She stressed that Canada must act ethically and sustainably to avoid exploitative practices and ensure IENs are respected and empowered.
“Internationally educated nurses (IENs) who choose to migrate to Canada represent an invaluable yet significantly underutilized resource,” said Dr. Srivastava. “We must eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic barriers to licensure. Supporting IEN integration should be recognized as a critical component of a comprehensive health human resources (HHR) strategy—one that also strengthens Canadian nursing education, provides transition supports for new graduates, and fosters healthy work environments where ALL nurses can practice to their full scope.” Dr. Srivastava added, “CASN urges the federal government to lead the development of a national strategy for IEN integration—one that aligns regulatory, educational, and workplace systems.”
CASN submitted a complete brief to the HOC HESA.
Read the CASN Brief to the HOC HESA
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