'Guardian angels' who stepped up to help Quebec during pandemic now feel left behind

At the beginning of the pandemic, there were foreign-trained medical doctors who worked with the promise of a job.

They were called "Guardian angels" but now they are merely doctors who feel they've been cast aside and forgotten.

Two of them spoke to CTV News but didn't want their full names published because it could hurt their chances to find work in their field.

Dr. Irene and Dr. Jole are medical doctors who moved to Canada from halfway around the world to find a better life. Getting a licence to practice in Canada is a long and complex battle so they were more than happy to raise their hands when local health boards began recruiting the so-called Guardian angels.

Dr. Jole got a job as a clinical technician. The work was humbling for a medical doctor. But it came with a promise that once the pandemic was over, they would be offered full-time permanent jobs.

"[They] never called me and so after 10 months, never. No call, no job, no nothing," said Dr. Irene.

Dr. Jole didn't fare much better.

"It's hard to say, but I feel we got used somehow … because we did all our best. But nobody really cared about us. Nobody really cared about the work that we are doing during this pandemic," he said.

The union representing the Ciusss De L'ouest De L'île De Montréal says these workers have reasons to be angry. The promise of jobs was absolutely clear.

"Of course, they even sent them a letter saying that we are working on ensuring that you get regular hours so you could come in as permanent workers. We'll be posting positions for you," said Alexandra Boisrond, a union representative.

A spokesperson for the CIUSSS could not be reached for comment before publication time on Thursday.

Dr. Jole says he's not giving up hope, but Dr. Irene says she's willing to pack up and leave.

"They don't appreciate. They don't recognize us. So I have a licence to go back to work in Europe, or in South America," she said.

Quebec's loss will once again be another country's win.