We made 17 recommendations. I couldn't list them all, but I'd like to give you the references later.
As I said earlier, people need information as soon as possible, to be in a position to make informed decisions and have realistic expectations upon arrival.
Now, there are other aspects as well. For instance, people should be able to start the process while they are waiting to immigrate here but while they are still at home. In fact, it is often easier to obtain documents on site than it would be once people are in Canada. They could start by requesting a licence, which is now available for several other professions. There are a number of things which can be done.
One of the things that we set up which is really interesting is what we call an interim licence. There are many names for that. There was a time when engineers would arrive in Canada and meet with a representative from a professional body to inform this body that they had studied in a given place and wanted to have their licence.
We could assess people's education, but they had to have practised in Canada for one year or an equivalent amount of time. It is very important because of codes, standards, etc. So, people were told they had to work for one year. When they went to see employers, the employers would say that they did not have any jobs for these engineers. Essentially, employers were saying that they were unable to assess a person's skills, education and training facility.
So, we created a temporary permit to inform employers that the person had met all criteria except for the one-year work experience. It's very useful for employers, because they then know that candidates only have to work for one year to obtain their degree. At the moment, I think 8 out of 12 provinces and territories are using the system, and we hope all of the other provinces will follow.