I would invite the committee to study this issue and perhaps engage in a joint study with the human resources committee. I think it' would be very useful to call before you representatives from various key licensing bodies to have them explain to you why it sometimes takes several years for a foreign-trained professional to get a clear answer. We need to exercise federal leadership, and we are, unlike ever before.
The people who are ultimately exercising the delegated authority are the licensing bodies. I think some of them have become quite progressive about this. They understand that they need to do much better and are streamlining the process. Some of them, it would appear, continue to have obstacles that are designed to maintain a closed-door approach. I don't point fingers at any particular bodies, but we all know this to be the case. I think we should call them to task. I commend a number of provinces that are getting more direct with the licensing bodies that are creatures of the provinces, including Ontario, with its Fairness Commissioner, British Columbia, and other provinces.
What have we inherited? I would say that the situation is getting significantly better, because this is a top concern among the ministries of human resources, labour, and immigration in the provincial governments and in the federal government. That wasn't the case five years ago. We all recognize that the declining economic outcomes for newcomers to Canada are in large part because of the lack of opportunities for foreign-trained professionals.