Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) says its March 24 decision to refuse the work permit application of a Scottish midwife in Victoria—after the proof of language test results issue was resolved—was informed by two reasons: the IRCC found “all” of her studies were online and she did not complete an eligible program for a Post Graduate Work Permit.
Heather Gilchrist, the registered midwife involved, contested this characterization from the IRCC once again in an emailed statement to CFAX 1070 today (March 31), saying she was in Vancouver for the for the first 12 weeks of case studies and live tutorials from October to December 2024, studied in-person from January to March 2025 and then completed a three-month unpaid clinical placement delivering babies in Courtney.
When Gilchrist spoke live on CFAX 1070’s airwaves last week, she said UBC provided supporting documentation to the IRCC, which she felt as though the IRCC did not consider when evaluating that she did not meet their requirement of less than 50 per cent of her studies being online.
“So for the IRCC to then appear to not even read it or understand it and say that my programme isn't recognised, that it's an online distance course…I can assure you at 2 a.m. in the morning when I'm delivering babies in Comox for free as part of my programme, I am not somewhere in Scotland,” she told CFAX 1070’s Ryan Price on March 27.
UBC provided statement from Dr. Cecilia Jevitt, the interim director for UBC’s Midwifery Program on March 28 which suggests the successful completion of its bridging program results in certification, documentation and completion letters to support work permits – but is deferring to immigration on work permit decisions.
"The IEMBP program was carefully developed to meet the health needs of patients and communities in B.C. and Canada. The full-time 9-month program consists of 12 weeks of online study followed by a minimum of 25 weeks of in-person education in Canada and clinical training,” the statement says.
CFAX 1070 has asked UBC if it would be possible to successfully complete the program entirely online and will update this story when a response is available.
In that emailed statement to CFAX 1070 yesterday evening (March 30) the IRCC also explained a second reason for refusing characterizes a letter from UBC as confirming its Internationally Educated Midwives Bridging Program does not meet criteria for a Post-Graduate Work Permit.
The IRCC says: “The applicant was found to not have completed an eligible academic, vocational or professional training program in Canada that was a minimum of 8 months in duration and led to a degree, diploma or certificate. The letter from UBC confirms this. As a matter of fact, the letter of program completion from The University of British Columbia states ‘As a non-credit program, IEMBP students are registered as Access Studies students through UBC Non-Degree Studies, which is designated for individuals taking UBC courses without pursuing a degree.’”
UBC has told CFAX 1070 this program does result in a certificate in Dr. Jevitt’s original statement, and any additional response from UBC will be published once available.
The IRCC says there is a pending appeal of its refusal on Gilchrist’s work application which was made March 26, and Gilchrist will be notified of the decision when its review is complete. However, Gilchrist now tells CFAX 1070 (March 31) she plans to head back to Vancouver on Saturday (April 4) and then fly home to the U.K. to be with her family after what she describes as an incredibly stressful time in her life.
The IRCC says each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis in accordance with Canadian immigration laws against the eligibility and admissibility requirements, based on the information an individual applicant has provided in their application.
The provincial health ministry tells CFAX 1070 it is committed to supporting trained health professionals coming from abroad to navigate complex processes, including those related to federal immigration requirements. However, it deferred to the feds on questions about which work permit people who complete the bridging program should apply for.
B.C.’s minister of health Josie Osborne tells CTV News she’s pressing for action.
“It does seem very absurd on the face of it, that a person who has been practicing midwifery here in Victoria is now facing these challenges with the permitting and immigration process to be able to stay here and do that at a time when we’re experiencing a health-care worker shortage,” Osborne said.
“It’s my expectation the federal government will work with us, that they will make the changes that they need to to enable Heather Gilchrist to be able to practice midwifery and that we can do everything we can to streamline these processes.”
Midwives Collective’s co-owner Ilana Stranger-Ross spoke out about her case back when Gilchrist’s application was refused on the grounds of a proof of language test. In a statement to the media sent to CFAX 1070 on March 21, she says Gilchrist’s sudden removal has caused serious disruption to an already stretched midwife service.