I read that if you can't do the sputum tests they sometimes make you do an extra X ray 6 months after the first which would extend it a lot! He's had the first X ray at the medical, is currently doing the sputum tests (or trying to, it's hard to produce sputum when you don't actually have a chest problem ) and will have a second X ray at the beginning of May, so we're hoping he'll be all cleared by the end of May. Not sure if he will need to see a TB specialist, at the moment this is all going through the panel physician.

Given that he has a list as long as my arm of things that are actually wrong with him it's funny that they've picked up on the one thing that we're pretty certain isn't an issue

It'll be because the other things wouldn't be enough to make him fail the medical i.e. they aren't a danger to public health or would cost the Canadian health system more than approx $6k a year.

HTH.