Madam Chair, this is, I think, one of the toughest issues we deal with for a number of reasons. I'll just back up a little bit.
The process of credential recognition in regulated occupations is a tough one, in part because of jurisdictional issues. It's provincial jurisdiction, and then provinces have further subdelegated responsibility to the regulatory bodies themselves. There are probably more than 200 or 300 actors in the system in the credential recognition process, so getting everybody to steer in the same direction is not without its challenges.
Some regulated occupations, I think, are at a bit of a different stage, one with the other, in terms of how they've adapted, or in the services they're providing under the pan-Canadian framework in recognizing foreign qualifications. The 24 occupations that Ms. Pateman spoke about have all committed to assess a person's foreign qualifications within 12 months and to offer an answer back on whether or not credentials can be accepted and, more to the point, what the gaps are in terms of that credentialing process.
Some regulatory occupations have gone so far now as to use national bodies and to work on a more national system in where we are. We've seen great success that way. We're optimistic. Our sister department, Employment and Social Development Canada, recently launched a panel chaired by Nick Noorani, to look at some of the issues around credential recognition in employers. We're anxious to see the results of his work and the panel's work and to see about a bit of a path forward.
There are two other things that have helped a little bit. One is something called an education credential assessment that the federal government has put in place. What we require now of federal skilled workers who come in is something called an education credential assessment. It's not the same as having a licence to practise in a particular occupation, but it's an assessment of your education credential itself against a Canadian standard, which can often be helpful in terms of determining that credential recognition process.