Thanks for the question.
I spend a lot of time thinking about how we can make sure that we access the experience and expertise of every newcomer to Canada, and of course, from their perspective, how they can put these talents to work meaningfully after all the hard work they've done in other countries.
The foreign credential recognition program supports what I would call the labour market integration of newcomers. We fund provincial and territorial regulatory authorities. We fund organizations to help improve foreign credential recognition. We provide loan and support services to help skilled newcomers navigate these complicated processes, and we provide employment supports.
I recently visited an organization that stressed to me how important that first work experience is. It's really getting that first job in Canada in their area of expertise that makes all the difference.
We recently announced $26.5 million in funding for 11 projects across the country that do those kinds of skill and employment supports, as well as the really important work of working with provinces and territories on the regulatory side to streamline and simplify the recognition process. We're attacking it from a bunch of different fronts to make it easier, from a process point of view, to provide that first work or upskilling opportunity.
Then, to give newcomers loans, in some cases small loans but meaningful loans, to go through the process and get their credentials upskilled or recognized is really important. If we look at the labour shortage in the care economy, we know that many of these jobs can be filled by newcomers, so this is a really important piece of the puzzle to solve this.