An editorial in the upcoming issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal goes after Shoppers Drug Mart. The Canada-wide drugstore chain is accused by the journal of “poaching” pharmacists from South Africa. According to the editorial, about 75 per cent of pharmacy positions in the province of KwaZulu-Natal remain vacant while the drugstore company actively recruits and helps pharmacists emigrate to Canada. This practice does not bode well for a country where AIDS and other diseases are rampant among the population.
The editorial makes a distinction between active recruitment such as sending company representatives to the African country and more passive methods such as advertising. But while the methodology that Shoppers Drug Mart uses may be different than that of the Canadian government, the principles are the same. When was the last time anyone ever heard a politician lament the loss of educated people in a third world country who have made the decision to uproot themselves and come to Canada?
Since the 1970s, when Canada purposely sought to increase immigration from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and other third world countries there has never been any concern about what the loss of these people meant to the countries that they were coming from. We hear a lot about foreign born doctors, scientists and other professionals driving cabs or delivering pizzas but we never seem to hear about the effect of countries that lose these professionals.
Somalia is a good example of the effects of this immigration policy. The African country has not had a stable government since the fall of Siad Barre 17 years ago. And it is not very likely that Somalia will have a stable government in the foreseeable future because there are simply no people left there that are bright enough to run one. Prior to 1990 there was virtually no middle class in Somalia; the population was composed of the very poor and the very rich. The very rich were the only ones who could afford to be educated. When the tribal conflicts that escalated during the 1980s and ultimately led to the fall of the Barre government, the educated were the only ones who were able to flee the ravages of the anarchy that prevailed. Those that were capable of providing leadership are now safely ensconced in Canada, the United States and Europe.
While the Somalis who began to come to Canada in large numbers during the 1980s came as legitimate refugees, no one is encouraging them to go back and use their abilities and their skills to try and rebuild their homeland. In short, Canada doesn’t give a damn about what the effect of our immigration policies have on Somalia or any other country that immigrants come from. That being the case, it is hard to understand why Shoppers Drug Mart should be concerned about any detriment that their practices are having in South Africa.
While immigrants do contribute to this country that is not the only reason that they are encouraged to come to Canada. Immigration from third world countries allows Canadian politicians to increasingly beat their chests about how tolerant and diverse we are. When the government encourages immigrants to come here merely to increase the optics of the country for political benefit it’s hard to criticize Shoppers Drug Mart for bringing people in to dispense drugs.
The only difference between what Shoppers is doing and what the Canadian government is doing is the difference between a corporation and a bureaucracy. Shoppers Drug Mart is more efficient in doing what they are doing that the government is. But the principle is the same.
One wonders if the editorialists at the Canadian Medical Association Journal would be as upset with Shoppers as they are now if the pigmentation of at least some of the pharmacists being recruited wasn’t on the white side.
