:
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and distinguished members of this committee.
[Translation]
My name is Jean-François LaRue and I am the Director General of the Labour Market Integration Directorate, within the Skills and Employment Branch of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. I am accompanied by Mr. Jonathan Wells who is the Director of Operations.
On behalf of the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development, I would like to extend my thanks to the committee for the opportunity to contribute to your study on foreign credential recognition.
[English]
This afternoon I would like to provide the committee with a brief overview of the important work that HRSDC's foreign credential recognition program, or FCRP, has been doing to improve the labour market outcomes of foreign trained individuals. In doing so I will focus on the implementation of the pan-Canadian framework and describe some of the areas where we've seen significant progress.
The process for the recognition of credentials is complex, costly, and lengthy, with nearly 500 regulatory bodies in Canada, five recognized credential assessment agencies—and there are even more—and numerous professional associations, post-secondary and vocational institutions, and employers throughout 13 jurisdictions. This complex environment ultimately means that many internationally trained workers are often working in survival jobs and not necessarily in jobs commensurate with their skills and experience.
[Translation]
To address these issues, first ministers agreed to take concerted action by tasking labour market ministers to develop a pan-Canadian framework for the assessment and recognition of foreign qualifications.
[English]
Launched in 2009 and led by HRSDC, the framework is a public commitment that establishes a shared national vision and guiding principles to improve the labour market integration of internationally trained workers. Through the framework, regulators and stakeholders are working with governments to ensure that the processes used to asses foreign qualifications adhere to the framework's principles of fairness, consistency, transparency, and timeliness.
Given the broad scope of the work, governments agreed to target two sets of priority occupations—and 14 in total—over three years for individual and collective actions. Among others, targeted occupations include engineers, nurses, dentists, and physicians.
Through national consultation, we're proud to acknowledge that regulatory authorities for the first set of eight target occupations are currently meeting the pan-Canadian commitment to timely service. This means that internationally trained individuals in these occupations are informed within one year whether their qualifications will be recognized, whether they need to meet additional requirements necessary for registration, or whether they may consider a related occupation commensurate with their skills and experience.
We should take a moment here to note that, although FCR is largely an area of provincial and territorial jurisdiction, the federal government is playing a leadership and facilitative role by working closely with provincial and territorial governments to implement the framework. To do this, we've taken a number of concrete actions, such as building capacity among provincial and territorial governments, supporting stakeholders through projects that improve FCR processes, facilitating national coordination among key players, and helping individuals with information and targeted financial support.
[Translation]
Fundamental to these efforts is the close relationship that has been developed with our federal counterparts, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Health Canada. HRSDC's role focuses on overcoming systemic barriers, meaning we work with the stakeholders to foster the development of nationally consistent FCR tools and approaches.
I will let my colleagues from the other two departments explain their role themselves, but there is quite a basic distinction here: the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development works mainly with Canadian systems to attempt to correct the problems that exist.
[English]
The framework is being delivered through HRSDC's foreign credential recognition program. The program has also been providing since 2003 strategic financial support to key stakeholders, such as regulatory authorities, to enable them to develop processes and practices that are consistent with the principles of the pan-Canadian framework.
[Translation]
The program has played an important role in facilitating the emergence of pan-Canadian partnerships. Since its inception, the FCR Program has funded 160 projects worth more than $90 million, including seven provincial and territorial agreements to fund the creation of systems and tools to recognize foreign credentials.
[English]
For instance, with assistance from the FCR program, the Canadian Dental Regulatory Authorities Federation is implementing a national process for the assessment of foreign credentials whereby internationally trained dentists, if successful in the assessment, will be eligible to take the national exam without additional skills upgrading. This is quite a change from the past, when the answer was usually to go back to a formal training program of two years. This is quite a departure and quite an achievement.
The program has also supported numerous sector councils to enable employers to assess the tools they need facilitate FCR. Our partnership with BioTalent is one such success story.
BioTalent Canada is working to connect internationally trained individuals with potential employers. It works closely with industry to identify the specific essential skills and competencies required in Canada's bio-economy, which also includes the field of medical laboratory sciences. Through the BioSkills recognition program, immigrants or Canadians educated abroad who are found ineligible for certification as medical laboratory technologists have the opportunity to put their skills to use in a related field. This type of project provides internationally trained individuals with alternative career opportunities that appropriately reflect their skills and experience.
Since the beginning of my remarks, I have underlined the expression “internationally trained individuals”, which also covers Canadians educated abroad who may return to Canada for employment.
[Translation]
Furthermore, the FCR program is funding partners to reduce barriers faced by Canadians as they move across provinces and by internationally trained workers who are trying to integrate into the Canadian economy.
Recent improvements to the Agreement on Internal Trade state that workers certified for a regulated occupation in one province or territory can, upon application, be certified for that occupation anywhere in Canada without any additional material training, experience or assessments. As a result, skilled immigrants and all Canadians are able to access opportunities across the country.
[English]
In our discussion with various stakeholders, we often heard about the financial difficulties that foreign-trained workers face when seeking to have their credentials recognized. This is a particular challenge for them because their lack of Canadian credit history and work experience can discourage Canadian financial institutions from providing them with loans. Recognizing this, the federal government introduced in Budget 2011 a complementary financial assistance pilot project initiative proposing to help foreign trained workers cover the costs associated with the FCR process.
In summary, national consultations with stakeholders validated that not only are systems for assessment and recognition of foreign credentials complex, lengthy, and costly, but also that those organizations responsible for these systems have a limited capacity on top of daily business to address these issues in their entirety. Common key messages delivered at these meetings identified a need for more pre-arrival supports, more competency-based assessment tools, sustainable and accessible bridging programs, increased availability of supervised work placement, and financial support for individuals and employers.
As I outlined a few moments ago, significant work has already been undertaken, but continued support is required. To maintain the momentum, all governments and key stakeholders—that is, all of the players that we have on the ice—must commit to ongoing collaboration, build upon successes and lessons learned, and continue to take concerted actions beyond 2012.
Clearly, we think we have the right approach. It is critical, I insist, that we continue building on the key partnerships that we have developed with all priority occupations. This is the key to our long-term success going forward.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
My name is Natasha Pateman and I am the Acting Director General of the Foreign Credentials Referral Office, or FCRO, at Citizenship and Immigration Canada, CIC.
I want to thank the committee for the opportunity to provide an overview on initiatives the FCRO has underway that are helping internationally trained individuals better integrate the Canadian labour market.
[English]
Attracting and retaining the best talent to address existing and future labour market challenges is critical to Canada's capacity to adjust to market cycles and to sustain longer-term economic success. As you know, immigration inflows are a crucial source of population growth and are fast becoming a critical source of skilled labour in Canada. Current projections estimate that by 2016, immigration will contribute to all net labour force growth in Canada, as the number of individuals leaving the workforce—from retirements, for example—is expected to exceed the number of new entrants from the Canadian educational system.
Over the past few years, Canada has been increasing its immigration levels as one way of addressing this upcoming labour shortage. In 2010 alone, Canada accepted approximately 119,000 federal skilled workers and 36,000 provincial nominees. However, although Canada accepted a record number of immigrants last year—more than 280,000—all of us are aware of the difficulties that many internationally trained individuals face when entering the Canadian labour market—
All of us are aware of the difficulties that many internationally trained individuals face when entering the Canadian labour market in finding jobs that match their skills and experience levels.
[Translation]
Recognizing the complexity of the FCR process and the need to improve labour market outcomes of skilled immigrants, the Government of Canada established the Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO) in May 2007, with a mandate to provide internationally trained individuals with the information, path-finding and referral services they need to have their credentials assessed and recognized as quickly as possible and find work in their field of expertise.
[English]
Internationally trained individuals need to have their credentials recognized in Canada by the licensing bodies that regulate professions and trades, or by employers who hire workers in non-regulated occupations. We know that immigrants who have their credentials assessed and recognized within their first year of landing experience better labour market outcomes and have a greater chance of finding jobs that match their skills and experience. The longer immigrants stay away from their profession, the less likely they are to gain employment within their field. Moving quickly through the FCR and licensure process is critical to preventing skills atrophying and to ensuring that immigrants can quickly contribute to Canada's economic prosperity.
To help with this, the FCRO collaborates with federal partners, such as HRSDC and Health Canada, the provinces and territories, regulatory bodies, credential assessment agencies, industry associations, and employers to offer services in Canada and overseas.
One area of such collaboration is the pan-Canadian framework for the assessment and recognition of foreign qualifications. The FCRO has been supporting the development and implementation of the framework since 2009, with a particular emphasis on improving pre-arrival information supports.
In addition to the provision of innovative counselling abroad, the FCRO, together with other governments and key partners, has provided contribution funding to a variety of stakeholders, including the Canadian Nurses Association and the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers, to explore and develop overseas tools, services, and strategies such as online self-assessment modules, mentoring initiatives, and employer recruitment of internationally trained individuals.
[Translation]
Projects like these help immigrants start as many steps as they can in having their credentials recognized before arriving in Canada, which makes them more likely to have greater success in finding jobs that match their skills and experience sooner.
[English]
Another significant initiative to support immigrants so that they can hit the ground running once they arrive in Canada is the Canadian immigrant integration program, or CIIP. In October 2010, the FCRO took over the responsibility for the CIIP from HRSDC and expanded its reach and services. This program is delivered in partnership with the Association of Canadian Community Colleges and provides federal skilled workers and provincial nominees, as well as their spouses and working-age dependents, with a two-day orientation session to the labour market and FCR processes in Canada. Immigrants who participate in these sessions receive individual counselling and develop action plans that prepare them for their settlement post-landing. CIIP services are offered in Manila, Philippines; Guangzhou, China; New Delhi, India; and London, United Kingdom. And satellite services are available to Southeast Asia, northern Europe, and the Persian Gulf. By having the CIIP located in these four countries, the FCRO can potentially reach 75% of federal skilled workers and 44% of provincial nominee applicants in up to 25 countries.
As of June 2011, nearly 19,000 internationally trained individuals had registered for CIIP services, and over 13,000 had completed the two-day information session. Preliminary results indicate a marked improvement in labour market outcomes of those who participated in the CIIP sessions overseas. For example, a survey of the CIIP conducted in September 2010 found that of the 1,051 graduates in Canada, 62% found employment in the first six months after arrival. The survey also found that CIIP participants who followed their individual job search plans were more likely to find work within their area of specialization.
Additional services and tools for internationally trained individuals at both the pre- and post-arrival phase include our website, www.credentials.gc.ca., which has products such as Planning to work in Canada? An essential workbook for newcomers, a step-by-step guide that helps prospective or recently arrived newcomers gather information about living and working in Canada. The Employer's Roadmap to Hiring and Retaining Internationally Trained Workers is a guide for employers in small to medium size businesses interested in hiring internationally trained individuals. As of August 31, 2011, the FCRO website had received over 1.9 million visits, an increase of over 42% from last year.
Furthermore, information services at more than 245 outreach sites and over 320 Service Canada centres help internationally trained individuals navigate the FCR process. To date, Service Canada has received over 100,000 in-person visits and 10,000 calls requesting information on regulated and non-regulated occupations, the trades, and the services provided by FCRO.
[Translation]
In addition to these supports, the FCRO also promotes discussion and information-sharing amongst stakeholders who are responsible for assessing, licensing and hiring internationally trained individuals.
This fall, the International Qualifications Network (IQN) will be launched and will provide a one-stop informations site for foreign credential recognition activities which afford employers, government, immigrant service providers, regulatory bodies and academics the opportunity to uphold and share best practices and use this information for their own needs.
[English]
The FCRO's information products are important tools that help internationally trained individuals understand the FCR process. But gaining Canadian work experience is a significant hurdle for many immigrants trying to integrate into the labour market. One way the Government of Canada has responded to this challenge has been by creating the federal internship for newcomers program, or FIN. Delivered through the FCRO in partnership with HRSDC and other federal departments and agencies, the FIN program is an innovative initiative that provides qualified newcomers at both entry and mid-career levels with an opportunity to acquire temporary work experience within the federal public service in fields relevant to their education and skills levels.
In addition to the FIN program, CIC is partnering with three immigrant-serving organizations in Ottawa, Toronto, and Calgary to launch a public service mentoring pilot program for newcomers. It's expected to be in place this fall. Through this initiative, newcomers will be matched with public servants in their respective profession or occupation with a view to expanding their professional networks, furthering their awareness and understanding of the Canadian workplace, and enhancing their career objectives and employment search strategies.
[Translation]
In closing, although foreign credential recognition remains a challenge for many immigrants trying to enter the Canadian labour market, federal, provincial and federal organizations are working together and making progress towards minimizing the barriers faced when trying to find employment in Canada. More needs to be done to simplify the process and improve labour market outcomes, which is why the FCRO is focusing on providing information and supports to internationally trained workers as early as possible in the immigration process.
[English]
Internationally trained individuals have a key role to play in Canada's economic prosperity, both now and in the future, which is why it is so important that they fully utilize their skills, education, and experience as soon as possible.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I hope this has provided you with a helpful overview of the work of the FCRO.
:
Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone. I apologize that you do not have my comments in front of you. I will take the chair's advice and try to speak more slowly.
My name is Margo Craig Garrison. I'm the director of health human resources policy at Health Canada.
On behalf of Health Canada, I would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to contribute to your study today. I will focus my remarks on Health Canada's contributions to improving foreign qualification recognition, first by providing some context to my remarks and then some examples of the department's participation and accomplishments.
The recognition of foreign qualifications is important for the health workforce. Internationally educated health professionals, or IEHPs, continue to grow in number and as a proportion of their respective workforces. For example, the Canadian Institute of Health Information reports that international medical graduates, or IMGs, increased by over 14% between 2005 and 2009 and represented 23.4% of the total physician workforce in 2009. Over the same period, internationally educated nurses increased by almost 15% to represent 8.3% of the total registered nursing workforce.
Despite the significance of IEHPs in the health workforce, it is well documented that these professionals face challenges during their path to workplace integration, such as navigating the steps to licensure; their language and communication skills; and their lack of familiarity with and experience in the Canadian health care system.
In 2003, Canada's first ministers made a commitment to work together to secure and maintain a stable and optimal health workforce in Canada. In 2004, first ministers adopted a 10-year plan to strengthen health care and respond to concerns around timely access to quality care for all Canadians. A key part of the plan focused on increasing the supply of health professionals, in part by accelerating and expanding the assessment and integration of internationally trained health care graduates.
In support of the 10-year plan, in its 2005 budget the Government of Canada committed $75 million over five years to the internationally educated health professionals initiative or IEHPI. We are pleased to say that the IEHPI was renewed in 2010. Currently, the initiative has an ongoing funding base of $18 million per year.
The goal of the initiative is to address barriers and to advance progress in areas related to the integration of internationally educated health professionals. In practical terms, this means working to improve access to credential assessment and verification, and increasing the availability of training, orientation, and other supports to facilitate integration into the workforce.
Since 2005, investments under the IEHPI have focused on seven priority occupations: physicians, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, medical laboratory technologists, and medical radiation technologists. These IEHPI priority occupations align well with the priority occupations targeted for FQR framework implementation.
Approximately 140 projects have been completed or are currently being supported by the IEHPI funding. To provide a few examples of Health Canada's investment, funding has been provided to the Atlantic provinces at $1.2 million over four years. The provinces have partnered to develop self-assessment tools for several professions including licensed practical nurses, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists. These online tools help IEHPs identify whether they have the knowledge and skills needed to work in Canada. By using these tools online, immigrants can access them prior to coming to Canada and therefore be better informed about Canadian practice requirements.
With $7.3 million over five years, the Government of British Columbia is supporting the workplace integration and retention of IEHPs through the development and implementation of courses that help IEHPs improve their communication skills, as well as a course that helps employers identify and deal with communication challenges. Additionally, B.C. will improve consistency across their bridging programs.
The Medical Council of Canada's national assessment approach for IMGs is receiving $110,000 over two years for the common assessment tool the council created to determine IMGs' preparedness for entry into first-year medical residency training. Discussions are now under way to explore whether this tool can be used as part of a common national assessment process for physicians who arrive in Canada practice-ready. And Quebec's
[Translation]
Department of Health and Social Services
[English]
is providing $6.4 million over three years to help remove barriers for IMGs and other IEHPs.
In addition to aligning IEHPI's investments with the priority outcomes identified in the framework, Health Canada has been an active participant on the FQR Working Group, which manages this initiative during the first phase of analysis and action planning for the five health occupations selected from among the first eight for FQR implementation.
Building on these successes, governments are leading work on the second set of six priority occupations, four of which are health-related, including physicians.
Health Canada is pleased to act as the co-chair with the Province of Alberta on the Physician Task Team, and is also an active contributor to the work under way with the other health-related occupations.
Health Canada's support for the successful implementation of the FQR framework is not limited to funding provincial and territorial governments and national stakeholders. Health Canada is the co-chair of the federal-provincial-territorial advisory committee on health delivery and human resources. HRSDC is represented as a member of that committee. The ACHDHR has established an internationally educated health professionals task force, which is co-chaired by Health Canada and the Province of British Columbia. The task force identifies the impacts of the framework on health ministries across the country and works towards addressing common policy issues.
As federal partners in foreign qualification recognition, both CIC and HRSDC are invited to Health Canada-organized meetings. We truly are cooperating among ourselves.
After six years of the successful implementation of the IEHPI, Health Canada is revising its policy agenda in collaboration with partners. Among the principal issues going forward are workplace integration issues. These continue to be a challenge, particularly language and communication skills and alternative careers. Health Canada is continuing to work collaboratively with all of our partners, including the regulatory authorities, the professional associations, and others to facilitate implementation of the framework.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that Health Canada is playing a key role in addressing some of the most complex challenges in foreign qualification recognition and has been instrumental in engaging a wider network of government ministries, organizations, and others who are dedicating their time and effort to improving FQR in Canada. These broad partnerships are essential to the continued success of the framework.
Thank you, Mr. Chair
:
Thank you very much for your question.
Maybe looking back a little bit, a couple of months ago when we established a list of 14 priority occupations, nine of which were in the health sector, we had those target groups divided into two groups. The first group of eight targeted occupations was scheduled to be streamlined by December 2010. The work is done, and all those occupations meet the one-year time service standard.
Now we have another group of six priority occupations scheduled for December 2012. We're right in the midst of working with those occupations. We are meeting with them, doing national consultations, and through those national consultations we are trying to identify and really understand in-depth their certification processes. And we're working with the provinces in doing that.
The reason we do this is fairly simple. It is because we don't know it all, and we need to have a really firm understanding about how the certification process is working, because from one profession to the next, it's never the same thing.
Once we've completed the national consultation, we draft action plans with each of those occupations. Through those national action plans, we try to identify for each occupation--because they are not all at the same stage of development--what their top three priorities are in terms of investment by government. We get a really in-depth understanding of where they want us to invest.
Come December 2012 we will have this group of priority occupations that will be streamlined—and I certainly expect the next six are going to meet the standards of the framework. I think I was fairly specific in my remarks, and I cannot insist enough, how important the work is that we are doing right now. I think we have the right approach.
That approach has worked for the first group of eight. It's going to work for the next group of six. We need to renew and extend the mandate, because this issue is not something.... There are so many players. I have named 500 regulatory bodies, and we have credential-assessment agencies. There are a lot of players. There are four different types of departments in each of the provinces. We want everybody to keep pushing in the same direction.
I have to say that this approach of taking priority occupations is working. You see the three of us at the table: Human Resources, Health, and Immigration are all working in the same direction. It's very important that we keep the momentum going, and I really insist on that. So come 2012 I'm really hoping that we're going to be able to extend our mandate beyond that period for another period of five years to identify other occupations that are as important. And I would even go as far as to say that it will be very important that we identify appropriately the occupations that should be part of the next list of priority occupations.
:
With regard to CIC's perspective on that question, we're certainly focusing on the overseas portion. We're trying to make sure that before people even come to Canada they have the information about the priority professions in the framework and know what can be done ahead of time, including whether they can start doing some of their educational assessment overseas, and whether they can start doing some of the licensure overseas. Some of the regulatory bodies do have some programs where there are online practice exams and things like that.
As I mentioned in my opening remarks, we also have the Canadian immigrant internship program, which tries to make sure that people do understand what's expected and what is required before they even come to Canada. So while we are doing the back end here in Canada, we're trying to do as much as we can overseas. And through that program, people come for a one-day course. As I said, it's also for spouses and working-age dependants, who can learn more about what's going to happen once they arrive in Canada and what they can do ahead of time. They actually fill out a form called “My Action Plan” and can start working on the process and know whom to contact. Then through that there's also something called focal point partners, wherein they're given contacts for immigrant-serving organizations in the province they think they're going to be moving to, as well as some educational institutions.
So, again, they can start doing some of their credential assessment and preparing their information before they even arrive in Canada.
Finally, to support the framework, we also have the international qualifications network, and that's a website. We found that when we were meeting with the regulators and employers and all of the different groups involved, they said they just didn't have a way to share information in a fast and easy way. So through this, we're creating a website that's about to be launched this fall where they can post information about bridge-to-work programs or some of their best practices. That way others can go there and learn from that rather than having to reinvent the wheel, and they can also tailor that to their own specific needs.
And thanks to the witnesses for coming and giving us wonderful presentations, I would say, in really simple language.
Mr. Chair, I will tell you this. I have lived through the foreign credential recognition problems. When I came to Canada from India in 1989, I had been a lawyer for nine years and it took me six to seven years to get back into my profession.
Things have changed. I have to say that the leadership role taken by our Conservative government has changed the dynamics of the whole game. The CIC took this pre-arrival orientation, for example, and through HRSDC a couple of years ago, we took this leadership with a pan-Canadian framework process. All of this has helped. In my own profession today, things have drastically changed, I would say. It doesn't take that long now.
And of course I agree with you that this is a complex matter, with all kinds of regulatory bodies and departments having to work with each other. It is not a simple and straightforward process.
But one thing struck me, Mr. LaRue, in your presentation on page 5, where you said that “Common key messages delivered at these meetings identified...increased availability of supervised work placements....” That line I like.
I'm from Calgary, Alberta. I have heard some people say that the safest place to have a heart attack in Alberta might be the back seat of a taxi. The chances are that it is a doctor who is driving that car—which to an extent is true. But it is very serious, though. Keeping that in mind, and at the same time that the demand for that particular profession is high, I will pose my questions, and anyone can elaborate on them.
My number one question would be, what is Health Canada doing to help foreign-trained doctors get licensed and integrate into our health workforce? I have heard from quite a few doctors that there is a process of foreign qualification assessment. They are told to pass some exams. They do pass their exams. They invest their money. Ultimately, some of them are not successful in getting residency. So there is a practical pathway, and I believe, working with provinces and territories, that is also their goal. I can also see the will of provinces and the territories when they work on the framework that, ultimately, we'll be able to resolve that issue also.
So is the federal government doing anything to address that residency challenge?
:
Thank you very much for your question.
First, I'd like to say that Health Canada recognizes that the provincial and territorial governments have jurisdiction over health human resource planning. That includes the recruitment and retention of health professionals, as well as the number of residency seats that are available on an annual basis.
At the same time, I can tell you that some improvements are being made. For example, we now have online self-assessment tools to assess someone's readiness to write qualifying exams. We have exams being written more frequently and online in other countries. This is a step forward as well.
We have multimedia faculty development programs for teachers of international medical graduates. This is being implemented to more fully integrate internationally educated medical professionals into the health workforce. We also have a website that is a central source of information.
The more complex issues are also being tackled. One of them is related to the assessment of IMGs when they come to Canada and seek a residency placement. We have consistent standards developed around entry to residency through the Medical Council of Canada and with a number of other stakeholders, including regulatory authorities and provincial and territorial governments, as well as a whole host of stakeholders.
That work has been done. It's been completed. It is in the implementation stages. This should help accelerate...or certainly it will help people's expectations around what is required of them for entry into residency. It speaks to some of the issues related to the FQR framework around fairness, transparency, and timeliness.
The basis of this work that we're doing now will support work that is starting to happen around entry to practice and developing the same types of consistent standards around assessment for entry to practice. So when someone comes to Canada and has been a practising physician in another country, these processes will help accelerate their assessment; and then if the assessment is not what they had hoped, there'll also be an opportunity to help direct a person into a possible alternative career.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here today.
Madam Craig Garrison, I'll ask a question that's probably posed around a table at Tim Hortons on a fairly regularly basis. In a country as affluent as Canada, why is it we're not able to fill the demand for medical professionals, for doctors and what have you? Why are we not able to provide enough Canadian doctors for current and future needs? Could you give me an overview of the number of seats in medical schools across the country? Are they growing? Have they grown?
I know for a fact that young people from my riding who are skilled students, great students, have continually applied to medical schools and there's just no room for them. Two of them, a brother and sister from my riding, friends of my oldest guy, are in medical school in the Caribbean now. It's not a bad gig, I guess, but they hope to come back here and practice.
Why are they not being allowed the opportunity here? Or are we providing enough opportunity, I guess, for those who want to study medicine in this country?
Perhaps I could have your comments on that before we get into the credentials.
:
You're going to have to allow me to step back a little bit to explain the context for the initiative.
We have heard musings over the last few months that many immigrants were faced with significant credentials costs when passing their exams. That's particularly true in the medical professions. Here, I'm not talking about physicians but about the medical professions in general. We've been asked to examine whether or not this was a real barrier. We know that language is a barrier. We know that credentialing is a barrier. We know that lack of experience is a barrier. But the question we were asked was, are financial barriers real barriers for individuals coming from outside?
What we had essentially heard is that when immigrants come here from outside the country, they don't have a credit history and literally cannot access our credit system as a result. It's the same for Canadians who have studied abroad. They are coming back and have this big gap, and the chartered banks in Canada are reluctant to lend money to people who don't have a credit history. So we've observed that.
We've looked at the literature out there on whether or not this is a real problem, because we want to do it based on evidence. There is not a lot of information, aside from survey data, telling us that 50%, say, face financial concerns and 30% cannot get credit when they try to get it. That information was pretty thin.
So instead of establishing, what I would call, costly new programs that sometimes don't work, the department over the years has learned to proceed carefully, step by step. What we have is an initiative whereby we're going to spend approximately $6 million per year over the next three years, working in partnership with the communities and the agents on various projects. We're going to have up to 10 project sites and are going to try to encourage the communities to assemble the key partnerships that are needed to provide access to credit.
We did a survey, or a scan, if you will, of what's going on in the country, and there are a few initiatives currently on the ground. They're great initiatives and we're going to try to solicit proposals on what we can do to support them. Essentially we're going to do an institutional test of sorts to find out the best model, the lessons learned, and figure out if there is a problem and what can be fixed, and how best we can provide support and whether there is a role for government in the long-term in doing this work.
Yes, as I said, the Canadian immigration integration project has now been launched in four countries. It actually also covers 25 other countries through satellite and itinerant services, so that's quite a bit. Through that it covers about 75% of the federal skilled worker program and about 44% of provincial nominees. So that's quite a chunk of skilled immigrants and their families who are getting this information.
As I said, they go to an orientation session about what it's like to live and work in Canada. But we also provide more details. We bring in partners like Royal Bank and CIBC, who talk about what it means to work in the financial industry in Canada. And people, as I said, will get one-on-one counselling services and will find out that it's not easy, that they do have to go through a lot of steps, that they have to be proactive and that they do have to network. They're taught about resumés and doing interviews, and about how bridge-to-work programs could help. And then, as I mentioned, they are linked in Canada to a service where they can find out more information about some of those programs, such as bridging-to-work and getting the Canadian experience as soon as they land.
There was an evaluation done of the project when I was at HRSDC and we found that it was quite successful—which is why we made it a program. We found that people who find work within the first year have much better long-term economic outcomes. We found that 93% found work within the first year, which is very high, and a great portion of those also found work within their field—again, because they were prepared.
The immigrants themselves, when they were interviewed, said that it was an absolutely essential service. They said they felt very well prepared, that they knew the steps, they knew it was going to be tough, and actually knew what was coming. So their expectations were tempered, which was great. We also found through surveys that Canada's reputation as a place to actually come to was much improved through this program.
I don't often have the opportunity to answer questions in French. And so I may have to use certain acronyms in English. I am asking you to be patient with me.
The pan-Canadian framework has a very specific section. If you look at the framework you will see a list of priority occupations. We were asked to work with directors who work with people in these trades groups. In English, this is the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship, the CCDA, who work with tradespeople. Essentially, we are going to try to identify occupations which... Naturally if we can extend the mandate beyond 2012—I dare hope that we will do so—we will be discussing including these trades groups. We must absolutely dedicate our efforts to that. Because we can see very clearly, on the list of professions, that there will be labour shortages, we see that the trades are one sector where we are going to have to focus our efforts. The framework recognizes this explicitly and we have several projects at Human Resources and Skills Development Canada wherein people work directly with some of these trades groups.
These may not be exactly trades groups as you define them, but we have a sector council in the area of tourism, for instance. Naturally, I am talking about people who are chefs, cooks, servers. These are professions that may not be regulated necessarily in a very specific way but they are clearly trades where there will be needs in the future.
We shared your concerns, quite specifically.