Thank you, Mr. Chair.
First, let me thank you for allowing the National Association of Career Colleges to make this presentation.
The issue of foreign credential recognition is a very important one. Career colleges throughout this country play an important role in helping newcomers to Canada have their skills and knowledge assessed, and also an important role in helping them obtain the Canadian requirements that will allow them to get their foreign credentials recognized. The National Association of Career Colleges is the only organization representing career colleges throughout our country. We have over 400 members and estimate over 160,000 students are registered in our programs this year. That's about the size of eight universities.
Career colleges are private institutions. This is not new. The National Association of Career Colleges itself has been around since 1896. We're celebrating our 115th anniversary. Some of you know us very well. As an example, Mr. McColeman was our landlord in our office in Brant. I was asked to remind you of that.
Some people frown upon the private sector being involved in the education sector. I've always found it amusing to look at the background of some of these so-called intellectuals and find out that they received diplomas from Trinity Western, Harvard, MIT, or Princeton, all private universities. It's good enough for them to go to private schools, but not good enough for Canadians looking at getting a leg up in life.
Ladies and gentlemen, I think we can all recognize that the public and the private sectors can all play a role. The fact is that we don't compete against our colleagues in the public sector; we complement their work, and we do a fantastic job in our country with tens of thousands of students every year. For decades, career colleges have been an important part of our Canadian educational and training landscape. Let me give you concrete examples.
Discovery Community College's Nanaimo campus has been assessing newcomers to Canada for years and helps them complete their Canadian requirements prior to having their foreign credentials recognized. Thanks to Discovery Community College's efforts, we're able to help newcomers become nurses and enhance our health care system.
Three years ago the Saskatoon Health Region recognized their need to address labour shortages in health care and approached the Saskatoon Business College to become a training partner. To date, hundreds of our personal-care aides and medical adrninistrative assistant graduates have been hired by the Saskatoon Health Region. This year alone, 48 graduates were hired by the Saskatoon Health Region, many of them new Canadians.
The Saskatoon Business College, led by young entrepreneurs, has been in operation for over 100 years delivering great services in Saskatchewan. It is a family business. Some of you have been in business before, and you know the only way to stay in business that long is to provide fantastic services to your community, and they do.
Academy Canada in Newfoundland and Labrador will soon be working with a major Canadian company to conduct foreign credential assessments and provide gap training. This is a major project associated with the offshore oil industry, which is having significant difficulties recruiting skilled trades workers locally. As a result, this forward-looking school will be helping welders, electricians, steamfitters, and pipefitters work in Canada, to help our booming oil sector on the east coast.
And there are many good stories in Ontario, in Quebec, and throughout our great country.
Businesses have recognized that career colleges are serious partners and can provide significant help to deal with the serious issue of foreign credentials recognition for newcomers. Various NGOs and local governments consider career colleges as partners in their efforts to solve this issue and provide support to their communities. If only the federal government could do the same. The human resources and skills development department has understood lately that career colleges could be a partner in helping on this issue and others. We recognize the great work done by this minister and her staff. We're looking forward to public servants also understanding that we have a role to play and involving us in their programs.
Mr. Chairman, Kai Frantz, a very young Canadian, with great parents, Jennie and Chris, and a fantastic future in front of him should also have a choice and be able to decide which institution he goes to and be supported by our government in his choice. I would like a newcomer from Poland with the proper credentials to be given the choice to benefit from an assessment in a career college and be given training in that institution to quickly become a productive member of Canadian society. However, Mr. Chairman, at this point we're noticing some significant issues in this process.
The Canadian government provides billions of dollars in training money to the provinces, which in turn use that money to subsidize their deficits. Two quick examples:
In the last couple of months, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador realized they had run out of money to help train people and as a result hundreds of people had to stop their classes in midstream. This is not a joke. We're giving advice to European governments, but the government doesn't know, in the middle of their financial year, what to do with their training money. Is this the way the federal government intended this process to work?
The Government of British Columbia has put a very low cap on the amount of money to be spent for training of individuals. The result: newcomers to Canada have to go through the public route and wait for years for the training they require, instead of having their skills assessed in compressed and efficient programs in career colleges. We understand this to be a way to support your public institutions. However, once again we're taking away the ability for people to choose.
The Canadian government does not provide Canadian students with grants to programs that are less than 60 weeks. A decision to change this could go a long way to help newcomers upgrade their skills and get their foreign credentials recognized by bridging the gap. We know the government is looking at this favorably. Our request: let's get it done; let's not delay the process. This is not a cost; this will lower costs on EI and other training programs for the federal government.
I'm not here today, Mr. Chair, to request money from the Canadian government; I'm asking you to make the process simpler.
Foreign students also wish to come to Canada and study. We know that's important, as some stay. Career colleges get regular requests from foreign students in the skilled trades, IT, and health care sectors. However, due to a decision that can't really be justified, students who go to career colleges cannot benefit from work permits, while the same foreign students attending a public institution can. It makes no sense to me. It should make no sense to you either. Why? When we asked the question, we were told “because”. When we asked for the reason, we were given none.
While we understand this is changing. This is a decision that this government is changing, and we appreciate that, but it can be done faster. Let's not wait for lengthy processes involving various provinces. The decision should be made and implemented now. It can be done. We asked bureaucrats if they could make the decision now, and they told us they could. Again, let's do it.
HRSDC and Citizenship and Immigration Canada spend millions on foreign credential recognition programs with universities and community colleges. They've done this for years. How much have they spent for similar career programs with career colleges? Zero dollars. Why? Is it because we're private institutions? I don't know. At least an offer of a pilot project would be welcomed, and we're still waiting.
Bureaucratic delays only serve to impede our efforts to strengthen our economy. Career colleges are flexible and adapt to the needs of the Canadian economy. Career colleges provide quality education and training.
We're proud to be part of the solution, and hope, Mr. Chairman, that you will recognize this.
Thank you.