The Commissioner's Comments about Clearing the Path to Licensing
We're in a situation where people are moving around the world, and they are bringing with them skills and talents and abilities. We - as Canada, if you look at our history — we've always benefited from immigration and immigrants bringing their talents and their skills. And I'm sure we can sit here and name any number of individuals who have joined us in this country, bringing skills and talents that we're very proud to display right now.
So it's important for us to recognize that as we do the welcoming, we have to make sure that those individuals can meet their own personal goals. They were trained, they were experienced, [and] they had opportunities where they were. They're bringing all of this to us, and it's [to] the benefit of Canadians. I think the issue of brain gain is one that we need to consider very seriously.
In our province there are too many individuals who are underemployed, who are unemployed, [and] who are seeking employment and cannot find it in their field of endeavour. Too many of those individuals are there. When the system fails it is disastrous—disastrous to the individuals, disastrous to all those who are in the ambit of the individuals and disastrous for society itself.
The Commissioner's Recommendations
In terms of where we want to go with the recommendations that we have heard, number one, we want to speak to the regulatory bodies about the ways in which they could speed up some of the processes to fully acknowledge what happens—the impact actually— that slow decisions, indecisions, too many hoops to jump, too many barriers in the way, how that affects in a personal way the life and the lives of individuals. We want also to speak to the federal government-[make] recommendations to the federal government—as to the information that could be given to someone as they apply offshore, as they apply in their country of origin to come to Canada to be a professional. We feel that there is information that is missing, [that] the individual needs to know once one lands in Canada: you are now in a provincial jurisdiction and that the province and the provincial jurisdiction or territorial jurisdiction—that's where the rules are regarding your licensing, regarding your certification.
The Commissioner's Advice to Applicants
Well, the recommendation that, and I think all of us need to make to professionals before coming to Canada, really is to say to them: do your homework. Start the process as early as you possibly can. Ask as many questions as you can. Find individuals who are already in Canada practising. And find out what some of the processes are. It's important that one comes prepared for the regulatory bodies' registration, to know what is required in that whole registration process. I think if you speak to as many professionals as you possibly can, they will all say to you—those who have succeeded as well as those who have failed in terms of getting into their profession—they are not expecting to walk off the boat or walk off the aircraft straight into their profession. We know in order to put your shingle up you have to go through a process. And I think they are quite prepared to do this. But I think it's so important for them to have information, for them to know exactly what the requirements are and to have an answer given to them in a timely fashion, so that they can make major decisions about either bringing their families, coming themselves or knowing what the financial drain will be when they arrive in the province.
