Harper's immigration agency may run into jurisdictional squabbles: experts
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at 16:12 on January 4, 2006, EST.
By DONALD MCKENZIE
OTTAWA (CP) - Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is promising to make it easier for the work and education accomplishments of immigrants to be recognized in Canada. Here's a closer look.
Claim: The Conservatives say they would create the Canadian Agency for Assessment and Recognition of Credentials, which would look at international credentials and experience, and work to educate employers on the value of foreign credentials.
He also wants to co-operate with the provinces and professional associations to ensure foreign-trained professionals meet Canadian standards while getting them working in Canada quickly.
Quote: "The biggest barrier to new Canadians is the frequent failure of Canada to recognize legitimate foreign credentials." - Harper, Jan. 4, 2006.
Politics: The Tories have always lagged the Liberals in connecting at the polls with immigrants. They hope this promise, as well as one to substantially cut the $975 immigrant landing fee, will help secure votes and win ridings in key immigrant-heavy battlegrounds such as Toronto and Vancouver.
Reality: The Tories could face several problems implementing the plan because the provinces and various professional orders hold much of the power in immigration-related matters and deciding who can work.
"I've been in this field for over 30 years and it's always been a problem to get these professional corporations and orders to open up to newcomers," said Rivka Augenfeld, the head of a Quebec coalition of refugee and immigrant groups.
Augenfeld called Harper's initiative laudable, but wondered just what kind of teeth it will have.
"It's not the government who decides who's qualified to work as an engineer, it's the order of engineers," Augenfeld said in an interview from Montreal.
"Or if somebody's going to be an architect, it's the corporation that governs architects who's going to decide if this person is qualified to work as an architect."
Augenfeld said one sector with a glaring dearth of qualifed people is medicine.
"We have a shortage of doctors," she said. "We have a shortage of specialists. We have highly qualified people here who can't work because they have to go through an internship."
A doctor who arrives in Canada with 20 years of foreign experience still has to become an intern, but with only very few positions per year, "it's like going through the proverbial eye of the needle," she added.
"It's a waste. It's just a big waste for Canada, and for Quebec, to bring people who spend a lot of money to come here, and then to not to use their talent."
Immigration lawyer Greg Willoughby echoed Augenfeld, saying the professional orders have a lot of power because they determine the minimum requirements for their respective profession.
Willoughby said the proposed agency would be outside the jurisdiction of a federal prime minister.
"It flies in the face of what the Tories are saying, that they'll give more autonomy to the provinces to rule their house in provincial areas of jurisdiction," Willoughby said from London, Ont.
"It sounds a lot more like politicking than actual policy that can be implemented."
A federal Liberal spokesman noted that Prime Minister Paul Martin said Wednesday the Grits want to accelerate the integration of up to 1,000 more internationally trained doctors.
That would be on top of plans from last year's budget to bring on stream 2,300 internationally trained health professionals.
The spokesman said there may be other announcements related to foreign-acquired credentials during the rest of the election campaign.
http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/NationalNewsArticle.htm?src=n010432A.xml
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
at 16:12 on January 4, 2006, EST.
By DONALD MCKENZIE
OTTAWA (CP) - Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is promising to make it easier for the work and education accomplishments of immigrants to be recognized in Canada. Here's a closer look.
Claim: The Conservatives say they would create the Canadian Agency for Assessment and Recognition of Credentials, which would look at international credentials and experience, and work to educate employers on the value of foreign credentials.
He also wants to co-operate with the provinces and professional associations to ensure foreign-trained professionals meet Canadian standards while getting them working in Canada quickly.
Quote: "The biggest barrier to new Canadians is the frequent failure of Canada to recognize legitimate foreign credentials." - Harper, Jan. 4, 2006.
Politics: The Tories have always lagged the Liberals in connecting at the polls with immigrants. They hope this promise, as well as one to substantially cut the $975 immigrant landing fee, will help secure votes and win ridings in key immigrant-heavy battlegrounds such as Toronto and Vancouver.
Reality: The Tories could face several problems implementing the plan because the provinces and various professional orders hold much of the power in immigration-related matters and deciding who can work.
"I've been in this field for over 30 years and it's always been a problem to get these professional corporations and orders to open up to newcomers," said Rivka Augenfeld, the head of a Quebec coalition of refugee and immigrant groups.
Augenfeld called Harper's initiative laudable, but wondered just what kind of teeth it will have.
"It's not the government who decides who's qualified to work as an engineer, it's the order of engineers," Augenfeld said in an interview from Montreal.
"Or if somebody's going to be an architect, it's the corporation that governs architects who's going to decide if this person is qualified to work as an architect."
Augenfeld said one sector with a glaring dearth of qualifed people is medicine.
"We have a shortage of doctors," she said. "We have a shortage of specialists. We have highly qualified people here who can't work because they have to go through an internship."
A doctor who arrives in Canada with 20 years of foreign experience still has to become an intern, but with only very few positions per year, "it's like going through the proverbial eye of the needle," she added.
"It's a waste. It's just a big waste for Canada, and for Quebec, to bring people who spend a lot of money to come here, and then to not to use their talent."
Immigration lawyer Greg Willoughby echoed Augenfeld, saying the professional orders have a lot of power because they determine the minimum requirements for their respective profession.
Willoughby said the proposed agency would be outside the jurisdiction of a federal prime minister.
"It flies in the face of what the Tories are saying, that they'll give more autonomy to the provinces to rule their house in provincial areas of jurisdiction," Willoughby said from London, Ont.
"It sounds a lot more like politicking than actual policy that can be implemented."
A federal Liberal spokesman noted that Prime Minister Paul Martin said Wednesday the Grits want to accelerate the integration of up to 1,000 more internationally trained doctors.
That would be on top of plans from last year's budget to bring on stream 2,300 internationally trained health professionals.
The spokesman said there may be other announcements related to foreign-acquired credentials during the rest of the election campaign.
http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/NationalNewsArticle.htm?src=n010432A.xml