C O M M E N T

Professional Immigrants may get Suitable Jobs

ONCE again the professionals who migrated to Canada and wasted themselves in odd jobs have a new hope. The trained doctors who are forced to drive taxicabs instead of working in hospitals could become a thing of the past in Ontario if proposed legislation becomes law. Citizenship and Immigration Minister Mike Colle has assured that the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act would be the first law in Canada to effectively change and standardize the rules for hiring foreign-trained skilled workers in 34 regulated professions. It would affect physicians, accountants, lawyers, engineers, teachers and other important professionals.

Colle has declared,” We are going to be the first province in Canada to break down the barriers to access our regulated professions. While maintaining the independence of regulatory bodies, we are going to ensure there is a clear, fair process that has common benchmarks right across the board.”  It is a fact while services such as hospitals suffered long delays forcing people to other countries for treatment, doctors rotted as cab drivers. “Our goal is to create an environment where good people want to come to our province,” opined Government Services Minister Gerry Phillips, who announced the plan with Colle.  So when talented people from around the world are thinking of a new start, they’ll think of Ontario.

Everyone agrees with New Democrat critic Peter Tabuns that some sort of new legislation is needed as not only are credentials from Third World countries being rejected, but also those from industrialized nations like Japan and China. A lot of Mainland Chinese and south Asian immigrants who come over with extremely impressive credentials and then find they can’t get work in areas where they’re trained. Many are stuck doing menial labour or doing labour in their fields that’s far below their potential and their training. It’s devastating for them and their families, and for the Canadian economy, it’s a huge waste of talent.

Ontario welcomes around 125,000 immigrants each year, of which more than half have a university degree and about 10 per cent have experience in a regulated profession or trade.

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