moved:
That, in the opinion of this House, the government should, in co-operation with the provinces, seek to put in place a process aimed at ensuring the portability of credentials obtained in and outside Canada in order to fully utilize the talents, skills and experience of all Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to open debate on my motion, No. M-303 as stated. This motion presents the House with the unique opportunity to assert its leadership and fulfil its duty to the people of Canada, to do them justice. This motion strikes to the heart of what Canada wants for its citizens and what citizens want from their Canada.
This motion ought to transcend partisan interests. Why? Because Canadians by birth and by choice want and need the dignity of work. They want and need to contribute to the economic and social fabric of their great nation. They want and need to find fulfilment and a sense of personal identity in their chosen occupations. They want and need to support themselves and their families.
I believe no one in this House or in this country would disagree that Canada wants her citizens to obtain these goals. Insuring the freedom, productivity, contentment and security of citizens is the chief interests of any democratic government. That is why I believe our federal and provincial governments must co-operate with one another and with other governments worldwide to see to it that Canada's citizens are able to maximize their productivity, their earning potential, their self-esteem and their creativity.
Simply put we in this House must work together to make the accreditation of foreign and out of province credentials a simple, orderly and timely as possible without compromising occupational standards for even a moment to ensure the full realization and utilization of the talents, skills and experience of all our citizens.
Professional and academic standards act as a kind of guarantee to the public. People can trust their affairs with a lawyer or trust their lives with a doctor, knowing that each of them has met local professional standards. As our children attend school from kindergarten through advanced degrees it seems only reasonable for us to believe that teachers are qualified in their fields. It is just as natural for us to want our children's academic achievements to be solid and substantial. We would like them to be as qualified as possible.
To retain the confidence of the public, regulatory bodies enforce a certain level of competence and knowledge. Professional standards are upheld. In general, most people in our communities accept that system.
The fairness of the system is tested when newcomers to Canada request that their credentials be recognized. In fairness to the public and to members of the professions and trades here in Canada, the domestic authorities must conduct rigorous and comprehensive examinations of foreign credentials.
People who are familiar with the credentials issue know how complex it is. My motion is in no way a criticism of the people now working in the field. My hope is that we can better support their efforts.
There are costs associated with portability of credentials. I believe co-operation and co-ordination are the means to contain those costs effectively and to fairly allocate any expense that remains.
My motion calls for co-operation between our federal and provincial governments and on the international level. In academic and professional areas where provinces and territories have jurisdiction, the resources of the federal government can minimize the difficulty and expense. The benefits of an effective recognition process fully justify the efforts governments make to create it.
Job creation is the number one priority of this government. It is the foundation upon which this government has built a vision for Canada's entry into the 21st century. That vision encompasses the interests not only of Canadians here today but of those who will join us here tomorrow and rightly so.
Canada can and should do much more to ensure that immigrants and all citizens are able to participate fully in the labour force. Canada is a land of immigrants. Over the years, over the centuries, first one group and then another have come here to make new lives.
Some people were fleeing political turmoil. Many could find no opportunities in their countries of birth. Certainly, some of the people who came to Canada believed they would find adventure and excitement in the open spaces as well as economic and political freedom.
Some people come to Canada empty handed as political or economic refugees. The only fortune they can carry is their knowledge. A good education might be the only inheritance they can give their children. In all fairness we should help people make the most of what they have, not the least.
A Statistics Canada report released last July titled "Canada's Changing Immigrant Population" points out that the labour force participation rate for Canadian immigrants was lower than that of Canadians born in Canada, despite the similar proportions of university degree holders in the two groups. Based on this information, the report concludes that recent arrivals "may take more time to adapt to Canada's labour market".
I submit that the more plausible alternative explanation is the absence of an effective process or mechanism for accreditation of foreign-obtained credentials. As compelling as the statistical data in the report are, it is the people behind the numbers who make the strongest case for an orderly system of accreditation.
I would imagine that all members of this House are familiar with cases in which highly skilled immigrants have come to Canada only to find their foreign credentials do not entitle them to work in their field of expertise.
A striking example was recently documented in an Ottawa Citizen article titled ``Educated immigrants face work barrier''. This story detailed the case of a woman physician from Honduras who arrived as a refugee in Canada and has been forced to clean houses to support her family.
In my home province of Manitoba there are now close to 100 medical doctors who want to practise the healing art. Yet barriers exist to prevent them from doing so. I know of one physician who recently immigrated with his family from Ukraine. He is unable to practise despite his impeccable foreign obtained credentials.
This doctor and his family are not the only ones who suffer in this instance. Indeed our Winnipeg community incurs a loss as well, a loss of expertise. There are many more examples in many other disciplines and fields.
Throughout Canada there are hundreds and thousands of highly skilled engineers, technologists, technicians, teachers, accountants, lawyers, mechanics, electricians, plumbers, dentists, nurses and many more. They have one thing in common. They chose Canada as their new home in which to raise their families. They want to contribute to the development and prosperity of their chosen land. I ask, how can we in conscience turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to them? How can we?
The issue of accreditation of foreign obtained credentials has been before this House since at least 1989 when this member took the issue before the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology and the committee on health and welfare, social affairs, seniors and the status of women.
I am pleased to note that both the Department of Human Resources Development and the Department of Citizenship and Immigration today have now seized on the importance of this issue. A four part report released last year states and I quote: "Few examples of mutual recognition of foreign credentials within an occupation and between countries exist. This is in part due to differences in standards and curricula that exist between provinces. Recognition of qualifications between provinces
must exist prior to mutual recognition of professional qualifications between two countries".
The report adds, and I again quote: "Given the provincial nature of education and occupation regulation, the potential exists for duplication of effort-any lack of co-ordination between provinces could lead to-a foreign-trained worker receiving recognition in one province but not another".
The acknowledgement in the report of the importance of this issue clearly illustrates the need for the federal government to assert its leadership role by co-ordinating the efforts of the provinces in the area of accreditation.
I am particularly pleased to see that a new government strategy released just two days ago by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has reinforced the intention of another department of this government to do just that.
In the new framework for immigration titled "Into the 21st Century" the citizenship and immigration minister clearly states his support of one particular objective of the Department of Human Resources Development as indicated in its social security review book released last October 5.
This objective is and I quote: "To facilitate adaptation so that recent immigrants who come to Canada with needed job skills and professional qualification can more easily gain access to employment services and succeed in the transition to the Canadian labour market".
Furthermore, the document states that the two departments will work together to develop a national clearing house on accreditation in which the federal government will and I quote: "work with the provinces, employers, unions and voluntary groups to develop a Canada-wide system of credits recognition to assist immigrants to find and keep meaningful employment commensurate with their skills and knowledge".
Portability of occupational credentials across provincial boundaries is an important and relevant part of my motion. I am therefore pleased the agreement on internal trade signed by first ministers on July 18 of this year contains a chapter on labour mobility which limits the use of residency requirements and establishes a process for mutual recognition of occupational qualifications and requirements.
This is crucial since without a co-ordinated national system of national accreditation, the idea of working with foreign governments to achieve the ultimate goal of mutual recognition seems more remote.
Why is this joint effort on the part of the provinces and the federal government necessary? I would submit that the sheer complexity of the issues facing those who seek accreditation of their foreign obtained credentials will need to be confronted head on by experts culled from all areas of the country and all sectors of the government and the labour force.
I am therefore pleased to note that at the immigration deputy ministers' meetings in July and September of this year, a federal-provincial work group led by the provinces on access to trades and professions was established to advance co-operation on this issue.
This approach eliminates the potential for duplication of effort and ensures that all interested parties are pulling in the same direction and thereby saves cost, time and perhaps personal anguish.
We should remember that bureaucracies have a different sense of time than the people waiting for them to respond. What is swiftness for a government office can be agonizing delay to newcomers who are eager to work at their professions and trades and become part of their communities. The stage has been set for federal-provincial co-operation in this matter.
That is why I again call upon all members of this House to support Motion No. 303, to support the efforts already under way to make accreditation of foreign credentials a more effective and efficient process. Accreditation of credentials should be a dynamic process, linking governments, professional bodies and schools.
New categories of employment and new professions are emerging faster than ever before. We know that. We need the creative energy, optimism and determination of all these players if the process of accreditation is to become an instrument for facilitating personal mobility, national productivity and, not least, human dignity.
Ultimately a successful accreditation system can ensure that Canadians, especially young Canadians, have qualifications which are respected and valued throughout the world, a truly urgent need and in our national interest. Indeed accreditation can open the world to Canada and to Canadians. In return, we open Canada to the world. Canada has much to offer and much to gain.
In conclusion, I believe those of us who have benefited from the portability of credentials have an obligation, a duty to make a case for so many others who are not here to speak for themselves.
I hope I have done them justice in my own little way. I hope this House will do them justice.
