Toronto, ON – February 12, 2026 – On February 12, Dr. Ayla Azad appeared before the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) to warn that Bill C-15 could unintentionally reduce patient access to care by limiting federal student financial assistance for chiropractic students studying abroad and excluding chiropractors from student loan forgiveness. Dr. Azad urged a practical, patient-focused fix: maintain federal student financial assistance for chiropractic students and extend loan forgiveness to chiropractors practising in Canada, regardless of where they trained, so long as their education is accredited. See her statement below:
Chair and Members of the Committee,
Thank you for the opportunity to appear today.
My name is Ayla Azad I have been a Chiropractor for 30 years and I am the CEO of the Canadian Chiropractic Association. Today I am speaking on behalf of the CCA, which represents more than 9,000 Doctors of Chiropractic across Canada, and more importantly, on behalf of the millions of Canadians living with pain, limited mobility, and physical disability who rely on access to musculoskeletal care to live and work.
Each year, 4.7 million Canadians seek care from chiropractors. These are seniors trying to stay independent, parents working physically demanding jobs, or people managing chronic pain or injury who simply want to keep moving, stay employed, and participate in their communities.
Chiropractors are primary-contact healthcare providers, trained to diagnose and manage musculoskeletal conditions using evidence-based, non-invasive, drug-free care. For many patients, access to chiropractic care is the difference between functioning and not functioning.
Today, we are here to discuss clause 573 of Bill C-15 and the unintended consequences these provisions could have on patient access, particularly in rural, northern, and underserved communities.
Canada faces a significant training bottleneck for Chiropractic. There are only two chiropractic education programs in the entire country: one in English at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in Toronto and one in French at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
Two programs cannot meet the workforce needs of a nation this size. As a result, approximately 30 percent of Canadian chiropractors are educated in the United States or internationally, at fully accredited institutions. This is not a loophole. It is a necessity to meet Canada’s healthcare needs.
As currently drafted, Bill C-15 risks cutting off access to federal student financial assistance for students who must study outside Canada at private or for-profit institutions, even when they return home to practise and serve Canadian patients. Chiropractors are also excluded from the Canada Student Loan Forgiveness Program, despite providing essential care in high-need communities.
If these barriers remain, patients will pay the price. Canada is already facing a serious health human resource crisis, with many Canadians unable to access care and experiencing long wait times and delays to receiving timely treatment.
From a fiscal perspective, maintaining access to student financial assistance and loan forgiveness for chiropractors is a low-cost policy choice that helps prevent higher downstream spending on emergency care, disability supports, and long-term income replacement.
In rural and remote communities, chiropractors are often the only accessible providers for pain and mobility care. When student debt makes it financially impossible to practise in these regions, care is delayed, or disappears altogether. Pain worsens. Disability increases. People leave the workforce. In many cases, medication such as opioids becomes the default, not by choice, but by lack of access to hands-on, non-pharmacological care.
Student loan forgiveness and continued access to the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program can be the difference between a chiropractor staying in a community or never coming back at all. And for patients, it can be the difference between independence and disability.
This is not about supporting one profession.
It is about supporting patients.
It is about ensuring that Canadians, no matter where they live, can access timely, non-invasive care that keeps them mobile, working, and connected to their communities.
The Canadian Chiropractic Association is asking for a practical and targeted solution: ensure chiropractic students retain access to federal student financial assistance, and that graduates are eligible for student loan forgiveness when they practise in Canada, regardless of where they trained, provided their education is accredited.
This is a workforce issue.
It is an access issue.
And above all, it is a patient issue.
Thank you for your time. I welcome your questions.
About the Canadian Chiropractic Association (CCA)
The Canadian Chiropractic Association represents over 8,000 Doctors of Chiropractic across Canada who treat and manage musculoskeletal conditions that impact the health of millions of Canadians. Every year, at least 4.7 million Canadians rely on chiropractors to help them manage the serious burden of musculoskeletal pain and disease. As one of Canada’s largest primary contact healthcare professions, chiropractors provide evidence-based, non-invasive, drug-free manual therapies.
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Simone Lai, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications, CCA
416-585-7902 X 247