To all members of the Faculty of Medicine,
I am writing to update you regarding the recent announcement by the Government of Saudi Arabia that it would be ceasing funding for all Saudi students studying in Canada and asking those students to return home.
In the time since this announcement earlier this week, we have been in communication with the more than 200 Saudi post-MD trainees in the Faculty of Medicine who are affected by this decision. Yesterday afternoon we held an information and wellness session for those impacted and we will continue to provide support to these valued members of our community in any way that we can throughout this difficult period.
We continue to coordinate our efforts with the University’s leadership on this matter. As of this moment, our understanding is that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has asked their trainees to be prepared to leave by August 31.
If you receive any inquiries from media members seeking comment on this topic and have any questions, please feel free to reach out to McGill’s Media Relations Office at info.communications@mcgill.ca.
We continue to monitor the situation in hopes that the parties will come to a resolution, and we will continue to provide updates as appropriate.
Best regards,
Associate Vice-Principal and Vice-Dean (Health Affairs)
Faculty of Medicine
August 9, 2018