He was a doctor for 17 years in Ukraine. Now, in B.C., hes a welder [Video]

Alex Martsiv worked as a family doctor in Ukraine for 17 years, running a practice in a rural western area of the country.

“I have 10 villages and the population was around 5,000 people for just one doctor,” Martsiv told Global News.

However, when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, life changed for his family, including his seven children.

“Every day we saw missiles, which was flying about our houses and they were shot down,” Martsiv said.

The family came to Canada as part of the Emergency Travel Program and settled in Abbotsford, B.C., but Martsiv ran into complications to resume working as a doctor.

It took 18 months to verify his Ukrainian credentials, and he still needs to take a series of exams estimated to cost up to $6,000.

To feed his family, he’s been working as a welder.

“I prefer to be a doctor because it’s my life,” Martsiv said. “It’s a half of my life to be …