Thank you, Madam Chair, and distinguished members of this committee.
My name is Jean-François LaRue, and I am the new director general of the Labour Market Integration Directorate within the Skills and Employment Branch at Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. I succeed Ms. Carol White, whom some of you will certainly remember, as she spoke to this committee in April of this year. I have with me my colleague, Brendan Walsh, who was also present at the April 2 meeting of this committee.
Today, I would like to provide the committee with information on HRSDC's investments and activities as they relate to the labour market integration of health human resources. More specifically, I would like to provide an update on what we have done in the areas of labour mobility and foreign credential recognition.
To begin, let me say that we know there are real economic costs for the Canadian economy associated with issues of domestic mobility and the non-recognition of foreign credentials. Beyond the loss to productivity, maintaining barriers to labour mobility and underusing the skills and employment potential of immigrants also results in unnecessary increases in social services costs, the decreased ability of employers to find employees with the required skills, and the loss of potential tax revenue.
Encouraging the recognition of qualifications and certifications across Canada benefits both workers and employers. Workers have a wider range of opportunities, and employers have a broader selection of candidates. By ensuring that we effectively use the skills of immigrants, we can support the creation of a larger, more efficient, more flexible labour market. By ensuring that the qualifications of immigrants are given their due, we are laying the foundation for a more efficient job matching process that responds to the needs of employers. That is why initiatives such as amendments to the Agreement on Internal Trade and the resulting improvements in domestic labour mobility, as well as action on foreign credential recognition, are not just the right things to do for individuals but are also sound economic policy.
Successful labour mobility is vital to ensuring that Canadian workers can enter the labour market quickly, when and where they are needed, which will help strengthen the Canadian economy and will improve the standard of living of all Canadians.
We'll first provide an update on labour mobility and what has been accomplished in the last few months as territorial, provincial, and regulatory leaders have worked collaboratively to take action to ensure that all Canadian workers have the freedom to practise their occupations or trades wherever opportunities may exist.
The Agreement on Internal Trade, also known as the AIT, provides the basis for improving labour mobility for regulated occupations, including the health professions. As a result of the premiers' calls for full labour mobility in Canada, a series of amendments to chapter 7 of the AIT were developed to make it a more effective tool for achieving this goal. These amendments have been ratified and took effect on August 11, 2009. That marked a significant milestone.
The revised labour mobility chapter of the AIT states that any worker certified for an occupation by a regulatory authority of one province or territory is to be certified for that occupation by all others. Any exception must be justified to meet a legitimate objective, such as the protection of public health or safety. There are hundreds of regulated occupations in Canada, and we expect that only a small number of exceptions will be identified.
Maintaining Canada's highly regarded occupational standards continues to be a priority for governments and regulatory bodies. Through contribution agreements between HRSDC and groups of regulated professions, the labour mobility division enables eligible groups representing regulated occupations to develop a better understanding of the Agreement on Internal Trade requirements and to develop tools to enhance labour mobility.
In terms of investment, HRSDC has had a long history of providing leadership, support, and expertise to foster labour mobility. We have worked with regulatory bodies to create common standards, assessment methods, and other pan-Canadian tools and approaches since the Agreement on Internal Trade first came into force in 1995. In the past two years alone we've directed nearly $3 million towards the development of tools and measures to facilitate labour mobility and to promote greater understanding of standards among regulated occupations across Canada. Specifically, HRSDC has directly supported 42 regulated occupations. Of these, 33 were related to health occupations.
With full labour mobility in place, governments have a responsibility to ensure that there are consistent evaluations and entry points into the Canadian labour market. HRSDC's foreign credential recognition program, or FCRP, provides contribution funding and works with provinces and territories, stakeholders, and other partners to facilitate the assessment and recognition of qualifications acquired in other countries.
The Foreign Credential Recognition Program, FCRP, began work with regulated professions in three priority occupations, two of which are in the critically important health sector, physicians and nurses. Since 2003, our work has expanded to nine other health occupations for a total direct investment of $12.6 million.
As of October 30, 2009, the FCRP has supported 32 health-related projects, including 8 projects currently under way. Our support to the health sector represents roughly one third of the projects in our portfolio. The FCRP maintains regular dialogue with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, as well as Health Canada and committees of experts in the health sector in order to ensure the strategic investment of FCRP funds and the prevention of funding duplication. Input and feedback from Health Canada officials are solicited on all health-related project proposals received by the FCRP.
The FCRP has made significant progress in strengthening the foreign credential recognition capacity of regulated and non-regulated occupations, and has facilitated strategic foreign credential recognition partnerships and initiatives across Canada and overseas. Many of these investments have directly contributed to the efforts of medical professions to address the recommendations made by the Canadian task force on licensure of international medical graduates in 2004.
Despite the progress of all governments, barriers to effective labour market integration for foreign-trained health professionals remain. Successful labour market integration also requires that Canada has the right systems and processes in place to recognize the knowledge, skills, and experience of immigrants.
As indicated by Helga, in response, on January 16, 2009, first ministers directed labour market ministers to develop a pan-Canadian qualification recognition framework and a plan to put it in place. This process is ongoing.
Over the coming weeks, the Forum of Labour Market Ministers will continue to work towards a consensus framework document. I am confident that the work the Forum of Labour Market Ministers is undertaking will make a significant contribution to reducing barriers faced by internationally trained workers and will lead to the improved integration of immigrants into the labour force.
The FCR program will continue to be a key piece of the Government of Canada response to the issue of foreign credential recognition.
In closing, I would like to recognize the department's efforts to create an integrated system of fair and objective assessment processes, and to increase consistency between jurisdictions with respect to recognition and registration processes for internationally-trained professionals, while also improving mobility across Canada.
I would be pleased to provide additional details during the question and answer portion of this afternoon's session, or in writing, as the committee wishes.
Thank you very much.