I thank you very much for the question.
We did say that we want to help newcomers to Canada get to work in their chosen fields, the jobs they were trained to do. We don't want to see the qualified doctors driving taxi cabs, not when we have a shortage of doctors. And it's not just doctors. It's medical technicians, it's welders, it's a wide range of skilled and unskilled labour, frankly, unregulated labour--people in the tourism industry, for example. We need to be putting those skills and talents to use, but for years now, there has been no coordinated effort. The horror stories that I've heard firsthand from newcomers to Canada, that it took them up to six years to find out where to get their credentials assessed--that's ridiculous.
So we took action—this is phase one—to help them get their credentials assessed even before they get here. A lot of Canadian universities and colleges have partnerships or satellites right around the world. So for many people who want to come to Canada, they can now, through the FCRO, get their credentials assessed by the appropriate body. They can then, while they're still waiting to come to Canada, work on getting their skills upgraded through recognized institutions, institutions whose courses and credits will be recognized here in Canada. They can also work on their English language skills before they get here. So instead of waiting for two to five years after they get here to get to work in their field, while their families are dependent on them, they can shorten that process up very significantly.