A diplomatic tiff between Canada and Saudi Arabia has cost Windsor Regional Hospital some key personnel.
The Saudi government has ordered citizens studying as medical students in Canada to leave the country by the end of August after the Canadian government used Twitter to criticise the Saudis' human rights record. Roughly 18,000 Saudi students were attending school in Canada on government-issued scholarships.
The spat has hit the Windsor-Essex medical community, as ten Saudi residents working at Windsor Regional will have to leave Canada.
Hospital CEO David Musyj tells BlackburnNewsWindsor.com that the loss of the Saudi residents will put a crimp in care in some medical disciplines since they were expected to perform rotations at the hospital for up to a year and a half.
"These ten individuals, although they were to get their residency done in Ontario and return to practice, by them being here, did help out our medical services and our clinical services," says Musyj.
Musyj says they learned of the Saudi government's decision in the middle of last week. He says there are specific disciplines at the hospital that will feel an impact because the Saudi students were the only ones expected to perform those rotations.
"The areas that are really going to impact us are the ones that help out, in this case, our vascular surgeons as well as our neurosurgeons," says Musyj. "They're there to help them out and to learn at the same time."
Internal medicine is another specialty that will be affected by the Saudis' departure, says Musyj. He adds that the impact will not be felt in Windsor as much as it will be felt in larger medical communities such as Toronto and London, but the hospital will not be able to enjoy the benefits that the Saudis' contributions would bring.
The withdrawal of Saudi students from Canada is not the only consequence the federal government is feeling in reaction to the Canadian criticism. Saudi Arabia has also expelled the Canadian ambassador, suspended trade agreements with Canada, and stopped the flights to Canada from its state airline, Saudia, effective Monday.
Saudi students attending the University of Windsor and St. Clair College may also be affected by this diplomatic impasse. The university did not respond to an email from Blackburn News seeking comment, but St. Clair College spokesman John Fairley says in an email to the newsroom that one Saudi student is enrolled, but not on a scholarship.
