Scottish Midwife Faces Deportation, BC Seeks Rule Change

0:00A 58-year-old Scottish midwife named Heather Gilchrist is facing deportation from British Columbia after federal immigration officials denied. Her post-graduate work permit. She's been working in Victoria for seven months, delivering babies for a local collective, but got noticed on March 24th that her status expired and she has 90 days to leave. Her ticket home to Scotland is set for April 4th. The issue stems from her qualification in the University of British Columbia's internationally educated midwives bridging program, a nine-month course. With some online parts that immigration says, doesn't qualify. Gilchrist has a master's in midwifery and ten years of experience, and this is the first time a grad from this program launched back in 20. 15 has been turned down for a permit. British Columbia premier David Eby jumped in this week, urging Ottawa to rethink the decision and keep the skilled pro in the province where midwives are in short supply. Health Minister Josie Osborne called it absurd and said her team is pushing federal health

1:03and immigration offices hard to fix it fast. Colleagues at the Victoria Collective praise Gilchrist as exceptional, saying her sudden exit disrupts care for hundreds of families amid already. Heavy caseloads. The midwives association of British Columbia warns that losing even one licensed provider hits teams hard, especially with growing wait lists. Patients from the province are working urgently with federal counterparts to streamline rules for international health workers, hoping to reverse this, and prevent more gaps in maternity services across Canada. This has been Vancouver News Today, powered by AI.