now now now...

Dean Baker once again commits the sin of having a good memory...

Due to immigration Canada Has Too Many Doctors

That's the word from an immigration lawyer quoted in an NYT article on immigration reform. According to the lawyer, because of Canada's point system, which favors more highly educated immigrants "we have some professionals, like doctors, who perform low-skill occupations such as driving taxis until they can find more appropriate work. "

Wow, Canada has so many doctors that they have to drive taxis to find work! I seem to remember reading somewhere about how Canada's health care system was collapsing, in part because they have a shortage of doctors. Hmmmm, where was that article? Let's see, here's a quote, "With the population aging, waiting lines for care growing and doctors and nurses becoming sparse, especially in rural areas, opinion polls indicate that satisfaction with medical services has declined in the last decade."

Yep, that was from a NYT article a bit more than three years ago. So the NYT is telling us that both Canada has a doctor shortage, but because of the skills preference in its immigration system, it has too many doctors. That doesn't seem to fit.