Correct Answer: whether the province should ban distance clauses in doctors’ contracts
Passage Reference: The health ministry is now considering a ban on these clauses.
Why this is correct: The editorial explains that the health ministry is considering a ban on clauses that stop doctors from working near their old clinic. It then weighs views on that ban.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, find what the health ministry is considering in the first paragraph. Every speaker gives a view on that one proposal.
Why the other options are wrong:
- how clinics can hire more nurses and staff: Nurses and other staff are never discussed. The editorial is about doctors’ contracts.
- whether patients should pay for copies of their files: Strickland wants patients to be able to take their files, but paying for copies is never discussed.
- how much family doctors should be paid: Doctors’ pay is never discussed. The editorial is about where doctors may work.
Correct Answer: Jonas Strickland
Passage Reference: a clear right to take their medical file to the new clinic
Why this is correct: Strickland wants every patient to have a clear right to take their medical file to the new clinic.
Tips: Several speakers mention patients, so read each one closely. Ask who is speaking for patients themselves, not for doctors, owners or planners.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Rosalie Sevigny: Sevigny wants standard contract terms for doctors. She does not talk about patients’ files.
- Alina Skelton: Skelton wants a training fund and a notice rule for patients, not a right to their files.
- Percival Simard: Simard worries that associates will take their patient lists. He does not ask for patients to take their records.
Correct Answer: data showing contract limits kept doctors out of short-staffed clinics
Passage Reference: several of her clients turned down jobs at understaffed clinics only ten minutes away because their contracts forbade it
Why this is correct: Sevigny says distance clauses are a barrier to care, and her clients turned down jobs at understaffed clinics because of their contracts. Wider data showing the same thing would support her.
Tips: Sevigny backs her argument with stories from her own clients. The right choice is wider evidence of that same problem.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a study showing owners lose money training new doctors: Owners losing money on training would support Simard’s side, not Sevigny’s ban.
- a poll showing patients rarely get notice of moves: Missing notice would support Skelton’s 90-day notice rule, not Sevigny’s point about contracts.
- reports of clinics refusing to release medical files: Refused files would support Strickland’s call for file rights and a complaint process.
Correct Answer: a rural training fund would exist before the ban
Passage Reference: She would support Sevigny’s ban only if the ministry first sets up a fund for training doctors in rural clinics
Why this is correct: Skelton would support the ban only if the ministry first sets up a fund for training doctors in rural clinics.
Tips: Find Skelton’s condition in her lines. Read it to the end and match its idea in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the ban would begin before any fund is created: Skelton wants the fund set up first, so this reverses her order.
- patients would get one week’s notice of a move: Skelton’s notice rule gives patients 90 days, not one week.
- rural doctors would sign longer distance clauses: Skelton supports the ban on distance clauses. She never wants them longer.
Correct Answer: support a ban that is built with care
Passage Reference: We support a ban, but we think the ministry must build it carefully
Why this is correct: The editorial says “We support a ban” and adds that the ministry must build it carefully. It then recommends conditions to protect clinics and patients.
Tips: For a purpose question, read the last sentence of the first paragraph. Restate what the writers want, then pick the choice with the same meaning.
Why the other options are wrong:
- defend distance clauses as fair to clinics: In the last paragraph, the paper says distance clauses keep doctors away from places that need them. So it does not defend them.
- report on a court case about contracts: No court case is mentioned. Sevigny spoke to provincial lawmakers.
- ask patients to choose their own doctors: The paper wants patients to be able to follow their doctor. But it does not ask patients to choose doctors.
Correct Answer: standard contract terms for doctors
Passage Reference: She wants the ministry to publish standard contract terms
Why this is correct: Sevigny, the lawyer for young doctors, wants the ministry to publish standard contract terms so graduates can compare offers.
Tips: The comment calls her “the lawyer you quote”. Find what she wants the ministry to publish, and why it would help new graduates.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the names of clinics that break rules: Sevigny never asks for a list of clinics that break rules.
- average salaries for new doctors: Salaries are never mentioned. Sevigny wants contract terms published.
- a list of towns short of doctors: Sevigny talks about towns short of physicians, but she does not ask for a published list of them.
Correct Answer: two family clinics
Passage Reference: Percival Simard, who owns two family clinics
Why this is correct: Simard is introduced as the owner of two family clinics.
Tips: The blank asks what Simard owns. Look at the words right after his name in the second paragraph.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a rural walk-in clinic: Simard owns family clinics, and walk-in clinics are never mentioned.
- a medical training college: Simard trains associates in his clinics. He does not own a college.
- three city pharmacies: No pharmacies are mentioned in the editorial.
Correct Answer: the northern region
Passage Reference: Alina Skelton, a health planner for the northern region
Why this is correct: Skelton is a health planner for the northern region.
Tips: The blank asks where Skelton works. Read the words right after her name and job title.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the whole province: Skelton plans for one region, the north, not the whole province.
- a big-city hospital: Skelton is a regional planner. No hospital is mentioned.
- the southern border towns: Skelton works for the northern region, not the south.
Correct Answer: a fair repayment period
Passage Reference: the ministry should let clinics recover training costs through a fair repayment period
Why this is correct: In the last paragraph, the paper says clinics should recover training costs through a fair repayment period rather than through distance limits.
Tips: The comment repeats the paper’s own words “recover” and “costs”. Find that sentence in the last paragraph and notice the words “rather than”.
Why the other options are wrong:
- shorter distance limits: The paper wants distance limits replaced, not shortened.
- higher fees for patients: Charging patients more is never suggested. The editorial wants to protect patients.
- a provincial hiring bonus: No hiring bonus is proposed. The paper suggests a repayment period.
Correct Answer: two or three years
Passage Reference: bar them from practising within a set distance of their old clinic for two or three years
Why this is correct: The editorial says the contracts bar doctors from practising near their old clinic for two or three years.
Tips: The comment asks how long the clauses last. Look at the second sentence of the editorial for a length of time.
Why the other options are wrong:
- six months or less: The clauses last two or three years, much longer than six months.
- the rest of a career: The clauses have a time limit of two or three years.
- exactly ten years: Ten years is never mentioned. The clauses last two or three years.
