Mr. Speaker, I am rising in support of this motion and to further discuss the principles outlined in Motion No. 195.
This motion calls on the government to create a secretariat responsible for overseeing a foreign credential recognition program. It calls on the involvement of all those levels of government and various representatives who have a share or interest in this program. They would work together to implement national standards to recognize foreign credentials in Canada. We are well aware of the fact that employment is a key element of successful immigrant settlement and successful involvement in the Canadian way of life and economy.
When people apply to immigrate to Canada as economic immigrants, they submit their education and professional or trade credentials which are then judged on the point system. The points given to these are crucial to the success of their applications. Because they are so crucial to the application process, the expectation is clearly raised that people with these skills and abilities are needed and wanted in Canada.
However, sadly, many of these people arrive here to find that they cannot practice their professions or trades in Canada. There is a huge disconnect between the success of their immigration applications and their inability to work in Canada. This is unfair and unjust. It causes huge disappointment and frustration for these new immigrants.
Programs that facilitate their access to employment in their fields must be an integral part of Canada's immigrant settlement policies. We have all heard stories about physicians driving taxis, engineering professionals cleaning hotel rooms, and highly skilled people working in jobs that do not put to use their specific skills. I call to mind an oncology nurse in my own riding who, after a couple of years, was finally able to work in her profession, a highly skilled, highly trained individual.
We must ensure that people are able to fulfill their professional callings here in Canada. We must work out a way to let them contribute to their new home. In my riding and in ridings across the country this is something that happens to new Canadians, but there is a difference between being underemployed as a temporary measure when one first arrives and being forced long term to throw away one's particular talents and skills, and perhaps even to deny one's calling to a profession.
Being chronically underemployed is deeply damaging to the self-esteem of new immigrants. It hurts them spiritually and represents a waste of potential and resource to our country. New Canadians should be able to use their skills and talents here in Canada, so our country can benefit from their experiences and skill sets.
We need to create an infrastructure that allows immigrants access to do the meaningful work that they were trained to do. A coordinated infrastructure would expedite this process and allow for pan-Canadian standards which would make it easier and more accessible both for employers and new Canadians.
There is no doubt that this is a complicated matter here in Canada. There are many levels of government, many government departments, educational institutions, professional associations, licensing bodies and trade unions, all of which have an interest and a jurisdiction in the issue. Adding new levels of bureaucracy is clearly not always the best way of solving a problem, but the reality is that this problem has not been solved even though the seriousness of it has been recognized for so many years.
We need to take all measures to address this problem and be seen to be actively addressing this problem. Establishing a group of dedicated public servants with a specific mandate to find and implement solutions is a necessary step in the right direction.
Consecutive throne speeches have made the issue of foreign credentials a government priority. The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration has recommended that the federal government work toward developing a nationwide system for assessing international credentials. The committee is working on the issue of international credentials and I understand that it will soon be holding hearings across Canada. I hope it hears from Canadians about how to solve this problem and about how a secretariat might be of assistance in that solution.
I am aware that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has been given a mandate from the Prime Minister to work on this issue. Citizenship and Immigration has a key role in this matter. Human Resources and Skills Development is also a key player, but there are at least 10 or 12 other federal departments involved. It speaks to the challenges of getting to a solution.
How do we best ensure that this situation receives the attention it deserves? How do we ensure that the issue of foreign credentials is resolved and that a system is in place that gets new immigrants to work using their overseas training?
We must ensure that this task is not something done off the side of the desks of many busy people with complex mandates. We must ensure that a branch of our government has a mandate for action on this issue, that it is that branch's priority, its full time endeavour.
I think the best way to accomplish this is to establish a secretariat for overseeing foreign credential recognition. This step would prove in a tangible systematic way that the federal government is serious about its leadership in this area.
Currently there is an enormous variation in the way that employers deal with the evaluation of foreign credentials. Some of them take them at face value and some use informal networks of friends or associates who may know more about the institution or standards in the potential employee's country of origin. Others use provincial or institutional assessment services.
We need to bring these methods together in a comprehensive system so that both employers and potential employees are not operating under a whole variety of conditions.
A secretariat would work to make employers comfortable with the skills of new Canadians. Many employers are hesitant to provide job opportunities to people about whose qualifications they are unsure. The federal government must step up to the plate and show ongoing leadership to help these employers, provinces and educational institutions with the task of putting new immigrants to work using their training and professional qualifications.
The federal government must show leadership on developing standards and appropriate process. It must not impose standards, but it must make available resources to ensure their development and their ongoing implementation. A secretariat would be a helpful tool in moving toward this goal.
It is not just the employers who should be comfortable with and informed of these standards for foreign credentials. The potential immigrants themselves should be given relevant information about certification processes in Canada so they would know what to expect. That would help them make a choice about coming to Canada.
I do caution that we need to think about regional strategies, as needs vary with geography. Immigrants tend to settle in cities, but all federal programs need to take into consideration the unique needs of the individual communities across Canada. We can achieve this with a consultative process championed by a secretariat with a mandate for consultation and the fostering of cooperation among all the players on this issue.
In an increasingly global world, Canada is competing for immigrants. Canada must be positioned as a destination of choice in order to attract the highest calibre of skilled workers.
We rely on immigration for growth in our economy. By 2015 all new job growth in Canada will come from immigration. By the mid-2020s, all new population growth will come from immigration. The ongoing viability of our social programs is also linked to population growth.
We cannot afford a bad reputation among potential immigrants. Canada must not be known as a place where highly trained, highly motivated professionals and skilled workers are not allowed to use their training and their skills. Nothing will limit our ability to attract immigrants more than that kind of bad reputation.
The Australian immigration department has centralized their skills recognition. The Australians have a dedicated area that deals only with this issue. Perhaps there is instructive experience in their model which will be helpful to Canada. This system allows a more accurate assessment of potential immigrants' skills before they apply for permanent residency. Australia is also one of Canada's only significant competitors for immigrants and it is recognized that Australia does a far better job in putting new immigrants to work after recognizing their credentials.
Perhaps even more worrisome is the fact that some research has begun to show that this situation is so frustrating for some new immigrants that they are now considering leaving Canada and returning to their country of origin or to some other country that actually will recognize their credentials. We cannot afford to lose people who at great personal sacrifice and with incredible hope for a better future for themselves and their families have chosen to come to Canada.
I realize that a long term systematic approach to bring together all levels of government, regulatory bodies, NGOs and so on is no small feat. The Conference Board of Canada calculates that the impact to Canada's economy of recognizing the skills of immigrants to be valued at $3 billion to almost $5 billion annually. This is a significant impact on our economy.
More than just the economic value, we must ensure that those people who choose Canada as their new home feel that their gifts and talents are recognized and appreciated and that they can take their place in making their communities and our country a better place to live.
These skilled workers are a vast untapped resource. At present they represent a huge brain drain to our country. Let us work together to make sure that Canada is an attractive place for skilled workers. I believe there is merit in this proposal and recommend that we continue the debate and interest in it.