The Government of Ontario will introduce legislation to prioritize medical residency applications from applicants from ON, including those that completed medical school abroad. ON originally introduced the changes last fall, but a legal challenge paused the policy. In response, the government withdrew the policy and now plans to legislate the change to give it a stronger legal basis. The proposed legislation includes broader eligibility criteria than the prior policy and would provide a dedicated first-round stream for international medical graduates with past education or that previously lived in the province. The new legislation is reportedly aligned with the systems used in several provinces. Ontario Medical Association President Dr Zainab Abdurrahman expressed concern about the impact of the policy on other qualified physicians.
