Canada Immigrant Job Issues
Immigrants & Health
Immigrants generally arrive in Canada with better health than the Canadian-born.
However, as time passes, this “healthy immigrant effect” tends to diminish,
as their health status converges with that of the host population.
Immigrants also had lower rates of both depression and alcohol dependence
than the Canadian-born population.
(Statistics Canada, 2001)
Major Canada's population health issues
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Physical inactivity and obesity. The economic burden of physical inactivity was $5.3 billion ($1.6 billion in direct costs and $3. 7 billion in indirect costs) while the cost associated with obesity was $4.3 billion ($1.6 billion of direct costs and $2. 7 billion of indirect costs). However, immigrants are less likely than people born in Canada to be obese. Sources: Peter T. Katzmarzyk, and Ian Janssen, 2004; Statistics Canada, August, 2006.
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Canada: Overweight and Obese People, 2004. |
||
|
Province |
Overweight |
Obese |
|
CANADA |
36.1 |
23.1 |
|
PEI |
40.2 |
26.3 |
|
British Columbia |
39.8 |
19.2 |
|
Saskatchewan |
37.3 |
30.8 |
|
Newfoundland and Labrador |
37.1 |
33.9 |
|
Ontario |
35.9 |
22.7 |
|
Alberta |
35.7 |
25.2 |
|
New Brunswick |
35.3 |
29.2 |
|
Nova Scotia |
35 |
24.7 |
|
Quebec |
34.5 |
21.8 |
|
Manitoba |
34.3 |
28.2 |
|
Source: Statistics Canada, 2004. |
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Major Canada's health care system issues
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Family Doctors. According to Statistics Canada, more than 3.6 million Canadians did not have a regular doctor in 2003. About 14 per cent of immigrants couldn't find a doctor in 2001.
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Canada: Family doctor/people ratio, 2008. |
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|
|
Family Doctors |
Population |
Doctors per |
|
CANADA |
33,922 |
33,143,610 |
1.0 |
|
Ontario |
11,386 |
12,861,940 |
0.9 |
|
Manitoba |
1,232 |
1,193,566 |
1.0 |
|
Territories |
108 |
104,893 |
1.0 |
|
Prince Edward Island |
148 |
139,068 |
1.1 |
|
Saskatchewan |
1,122 |
1,006,644 |
1.1 |
|
Quebec |
8,223 |
7,730,612 |
1.1 |
|
Alberta |
3,680 |
3,497,881 |
1.1 |
|
New Brunswick |
910 |
751,250 |
1.2 |
|
British Columbia |
5,196 |
4,413,973 |
1.2 |
|
Newfoundland |
684 |
508,099 |
1.3 |
|
Nova Scotia |
1,233 |
935,573 |
1.3 |
|
Source: CMA, 2008; Stats Can, 2008; Canadaimmigrants estimates. |
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Wait Times. Forty eight percent of immigrants reported long waiting lists or lineups to get health services in 2001.
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Medical mistakes. In Canada, harmful medical errors are not frequently disclosed to patients. (CMAJ, 2007).
www.canadaimmigrants.com