:
We'll call the meeting to order.
I'm going to ask the clerk to distribute some budgetary information, and if the members would like, we'll take maybe five or ten minutes at the end of the meeting to discuss that. We can deal with it today, if it's in order. If not, we can deal with it at our next scheduled meeting. You can do that during the course of the testimony.
Today we have with us Mr. Leblond, from the Canadian Council of Social Work Regulators, and Mr. Buy, from the National Association of Career Colleges.
The practice here is to have you present to us for about five to seven minutes, and then we open it up to a round of questioning. You have five minutes each, and that will be the procedure. If you could speak or read relatively slowly so the translators are able to translate, that would helpful.
With that said, we'll let you commence, Mr. Leblond.
Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen members of the committee, it is an honour for me, as a social worker from Quebec, as well as for the organization of which I am president, the Canadian Council of Social Work Regulators, to have this opportunity to present our views on the study entitled: “A Framework for Success: Practical Recommendations to Further Shorten the Foreign Qualification Recognition Process”.
Since this is our first meeting, I hope you won't mind if I take a few moments to introduce our organization.
As its name suggests, the Canadian Council of Social Work Regulators is a national association representing provincial and territorial social work regulatory authorities. In that capacity, we represent approximately 40,000 social workers right across the country who are our members.
The Council was established in 2009 in response to a desire on the part of regulatory authorities to create a forum for review, development and discussion of views and policies relating to matters of common interest, as well as national and international issues related to licensing and regulations.
In other words, the Canadian Council of Social Work Regulators represents the preferred forum for discussion of issues relating to social work regulations at the national and international levels.
Even though we are generally proud of our performance when it comes to admitting foreigners into our profession—and I will come back to this point a little later—the work underway in your committee with respect to foreign credential recognition is of interest to us.
As a regulatory body, we are concerned about the harm that may come to people as a result of social phenomena. Indeed, pretty well right across the country, social issues are becoming more complex and, despite the efforts made by our governments, poverty continues to affect tens of thousands of Canadian families and children who do not have access to decent living conditions.
An aging population is also forcing us, as a society, to take another look at our relationship with seniors, particularly the most vulnerable among them. Groups and communities also need more and more support to make their voices heard and demand their rights.
At the same time, depending on the communities, a number of provinces are having to deal with or anticipate shortages of social workers of various magnitudes, particularly in rural communities or in such disciplines as youth protection and mental health.
Here in Canada, we are greatly in need of new blood in the field of social work and, that being the case, bringing more social workers from abroad would certainly be a welcome move.
Whether we are talking about pan-Canadian mobility or foreign credential recognition, our profession has done its homework and can certainly be cited as an example.
Clear evidence of that is the Agreement on Internal Trade signed in 1994 by the federal, provincial and territorial governments with a view to facilitating labour mobility, which has meant that, since 1999, social workers who are licensed by a provincial or territorial regulatory authority are able to practice their profession anywhere in Canada.
The Quebec-France Understanding on the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications signed by Quebec and France authorizes the licencing of social workers of French nationality who apply using a fast track process.
Again with a view to removing barriers to full mobility, the council has begun developing a Canadian competency framework for social work.
The purpose of this framework is to develop a pan-Canadian profile of the baseline social work competencies, in order to facilitate mobility while at the same time maintaining public safety.
This pan-Canadian competency framework will be an extremely useful tool in terms of facilitating and expediting file review and the admission of foreigners, as well as establishing national standards with respect to the skills required for social work practice in Canada.
As I referred to earlier, we can be proud of our performance when it comes to bringing foreigners into Canada who want to practice their profession as social workers here. However, it's important to review the figures. Indeed, using 2010-2011 as a reference, fewer than 200 individuals from the United States and other countries applied for foreign credential recognition or training with provincial or territorial social work regulatory authorities.
To my knowledge, the vast majority of these individuals had their applications processed and accepted within extremely reasonable timeframes. So, given the increasing demand for social workers in the coming years, and our effectiveness in quickly recognizing the qualifications of people wishing to practice our profession in Canada, we conclude that, were we more visible at the international level, we would be in a position to attract more social worker licensing applicants. And that's where you come in.
Indeed, with a view to developing the necessary tools to ensure optimal visibility internationally, the Canadian Council is in need of a financial contribution from the Canadian government. The social work profession must be included amongst the listed professions in the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications, just as occupational therapy, nursing, engineering, pharmacy, speech therapy and audiology are.
Our hope is that a series of well-defined measures can be developed that will make it possible to promote the social work profession both here and abroad. In that respect, we believe there is a need to redouble our efforts here in Canada to introduce the social work profession to our youth, including in Aboriginal communities, to ensure that a new generation of professionals can emerge.
This financial assistance would also give us a chance to reflect further on how to organize and provide retraining or skill upgrading that some applying to practice the profession might require, or develop paid social work practicums for immigrants to allow them to acquire work experience in Canada. We are also considering setting up a Web site as a virtual bridge between ourselves and the world, as a means of informing immigrants that there is room for them in Canada within the social work profession.
In closing, the Canadian Council of Social Work Regulators is anxious to play a constructive role in supporting the government as it takes steps to attract skilled workers to Canada in those areas where there is a demand, as is the case for social work.
We believe it would be possible to significantly increase the number of social work licensing applicants from abroad by developing tools to increase the visibility of social work practice in Canada, so that it becomes an attractive option to ever increasing numbers of individuals living abroad.
Here in Canada, social work regulatory authorities have done their homework. Bridges have already been built between the provinces and territories with a view to facilitating social worker mobility. Soon all the necessary components will be in place to admit licensing applicants from abroad, quickly assess their skills and thereby give them timely access, wherever possible, to a social work license.
If we want to substantially increase the number of applications, we will need to have a greater presence and be more proactive. I hope we can count on the support of committee members as we seek financial assistance from the Government of Canada.
Thank you.
First, let me thank you for allowing the National Association of Career Colleges to make this presentation.
The issue of foreign credential recognition is a very important one. Career colleges throughout this country play an important role in helping newcomers to Canada have their skills and knowledge assessed, and also an important role in helping them obtain the Canadian requirements that will allow them to get their foreign credentials recognized. The National Association of Career Colleges is the only organization representing career colleges throughout our country. We have over 400 members and estimate over 160,000 students are registered in our programs this year. That's about the size of eight universities.
Career colleges are private institutions. This is not new. The National Association of Career Colleges itself has been around since 1896. We're celebrating our 115th anniversary. Some of you know us very well. As an example, Mr. McColeman was our landlord in our office in Brant. I was asked to remind you of that.
Some people frown upon the private sector being involved in the education sector. I've always found it amusing to look at the background of some of these so-called intellectuals and find out that they received diplomas from Trinity Western, Harvard, MIT, or Princeton, all private universities. It's good enough for them to go to private schools, but not good enough for Canadians looking at getting a leg up in life.
Ladies and gentlemen, I think we can all recognize that the public and the private sectors can all play a role. The fact is that we don't compete against our colleagues in the public sector; we complement their work, and we do a fantastic job in our country with tens of thousands of students every year. For decades, career colleges have been an important part of our Canadian educational and training landscape. Let me give you concrete examples.
Discovery Community College's Nanaimo campus has been assessing newcomers to Canada for years and helps them complete their Canadian requirements prior to having their foreign credentials recognized. Thanks to Discovery Community College's efforts, we're able to help newcomers become nurses and enhance our health care system.
Three years ago the Saskatoon Health Region recognized their need to address labour shortages in health care and approached the Saskatoon Business College to become a training partner. To date, hundreds of our personal-care aides and medical adrninistrative assistant graduates have been hired by the Saskatoon Health Region. This year alone, 48 graduates were hired by the Saskatoon Health Region, many of them new Canadians.
The Saskatoon Business College, led by young entrepreneurs, has been in operation for over 100 years delivering great services in Saskatchewan. It is a family business. Some of you have been in business before, and you know the only way to stay in business that long is to provide fantastic services to your community, and they do.
Academy Canada in Newfoundland and Labrador will soon be working with a major Canadian company to conduct foreign credential assessments and provide gap training. This is a major project associated with the offshore oil industry, which is having significant difficulties recruiting skilled trades workers locally. As a result, this forward-looking school will be helping welders, electricians, steamfitters, and pipefitters work in Canada, to help our booming oil sector on the east coast.
And there are many good stories in Ontario, in Quebec, and throughout our great country.
Businesses have recognized that career colleges are serious partners and can provide significant help to deal with the serious issue of foreign credentials recognition for newcomers. Various NGOs and local governments consider career colleges as partners in their efforts to solve this issue and provide support to their communities. If only the federal government could do the same. The human resources and skills development department has understood lately that career colleges could be a partner in helping on this issue and others. We recognize the great work done by this minister and her staff. We're looking forward to public servants also understanding that we have a role to play and involving us in their programs.
Mr. Chairman, Kai Frantz, a very young Canadian, with great parents, Jennie and Chris, and a fantastic future in front of him should also have a choice and be able to decide which institution he goes to and be supported by our government in his choice. I would like a newcomer from Poland with the proper credentials to be given the choice to benefit from an assessment in a career college and be given training in that institution to quickly become a productive member of Canadian society. However, Mr. Chairman, at this point we're noticing some significant issues in this process.
The Canadian government provides billions of dollars in training money to the provinces, which in turn use that money to subsidize their deficits. Two quick examples:
In the last couple of months, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador realized they had run out of money to help train people and as a result hundreds of people had to stop their classes in midstream. This is not a joke. We're giving advice to European governments, but the government doesn't know, in the middle of their financial year, what to do with their training money. Is this the way the federal government intended this process to work?
The Government of British Columbia has put a very low cap on the amount of money to be spent for training of individuals. The result: newcomers to Canada have to go through the public route and wait for years for the training they require, instead of having their skills assessed in compressed and efficient programs in career colleges. We understand this to be a way to support your public institutions. However, once again we're taking away the ability for people to choose.
The Canadian government does not provide Canadian students with grants to programs that are less than 60 weeks. A decision to change this could go a long way to help newcomers upgrade their skills and get their foreign credentials recognized by bridging the gap. We know the government is looking at this favorably. Our request: let's get it done; let's not delay the process. This is not a cost; this will lower costs on EI and other training programs for the federal government.
I'm not here today, Mr. Chair, to request money from the Canadian government; I'm asking you to make the process simpler.
Foreign students also wish to come to Canada and study. We know that's important, as some stay. Career colleges get regular requests from foreign students in the skilled trades, IT, and health care sectors. However, due to a decision that can't really be justified, students who go to career colleges cannot benefit from work permits, while the same foreign students attending a public institution can. It makes no sense to me. It should make no sense to you either. Why? When we asked the question, we were told “because”. When we asked for the reason, we were given none.
While we understand this is changing. This is a decision that this government is changing, and we appreciate that, but it can be done faster. Let's not wait for lengthy processes involving various provinces. The decision should be made and implemented now. It can be done. We asked bureaucrats if they could make the decision now, and they told us they could. Again, let's do it.
HRSDC and Citizenship and Immigration Canada spend millions on foreign credential recognition programs with universities and community colleges. They've done this for years. How much have they spent for similar career programs with career colleges? Zero dollars. Why? Is it because we're private institutions? I don't know. At least an offer of a pilot project would be welcomed, and we're still waiting.
Bureaucratic delays only serve to impede our efforts to strengthen our economy. Career colleges are flexible and adapt to the needs of the Canadian economy. Career colleges provide quality education and training.
We're proud to be part of the solution, and hope, Mr. Chairman, that you will recognize this.
Thank you.
:
There is no doubt that language proficiency and knowledge of the culture of the host society are important to exercise a profession.
Furthermore, it is increasingly important to be aware of, and familiar with, the culture of individuals arriving in Canada. Having a different culture can also be an asset for Canadian society, giving us an opportunity to provide the service to people here in Canada who share that culture. At the present time, social work regulatory bodies have no certification powers with respect to language proficiency issues, with the possible exception of Quebec, where there is an obligation to have adequate knowledge of French to register with a professional body. I am not aware of the situation in other provinces in that respect.
Indeed, there is a very significant gap between the number of immigrants coming in and the demand for social workers in Canada in the years to come. It is clear to me—and that was the point of our first recommendation—that we first have to acknowledge that we will be facing a shortage. Then we will be in a position to priorize that profession, as we have chosen to priorize others in the past.
I have also been president of the Ordre professionnel des travailleurs sociaux du Québec for 10 years now. Since at least 2004, we have been trying to demonstrate that there will be a shortage. In Quebec, the Ministry of Health and Social Services recognized that reality this year. At the same time, we did note a gap between what had been announced and the actual priority given to our profession in terms of those that need to be acted on. So, it is my hope that at the pan-Canadian level, it will not take as much time to make this happen. Canada's population is increasing, as is the demand for social workers because of an aging population. The need--
:
I think that's a very good question, sir.
We do it already. The private sector is way ahead of the government. The private sector has recognized on a number of occasions that they're facing shortages in skilled trades. They've gone to private colleges to help them because they know we're more flexible than maybe some of our colleagues in the public sector. I gave the example of Atlantic College in Newfoundland, in the oil sector. They're doing training onsite. For example, electricians will be trained onsite with the company that's hiring them in order to bridge the gap for the recognition of their credentials.
We already offer that service, and we do partner in a number of regions. In Ontario we have a number of colleges, such as Herzing College here in Ottawa and in Toronto. As well, a number of our members partner with private companies to finalize and bridge that little gap that stops a newcomer to Canada from being able to get to that stage where they can practise in the trade they've been trained in, in their country.
In terms of whether or not that can be funded by private companies, certainly private companies are putting some of their resources to help some of the people they're looking for. They're doing it themselves because the government is lagging a little bit behind. We're hoping to see a change in behaviour from the government as well. The solution is not always to take public money, put it in public coffers, then to recirculate it. I know recycling is a great word, but recycling money within the public sector is not always the solution. On occasion some of the best ideas have been found in the private sector. We're ahead on this.
The answer is yes, we are partnering with private companies, and they are putting their own money on occasion into the training. My concern, however, is why would we ask the private sector to put their money when some government programs exist to fund this? The government is still thinking they will do it for the public sector only. The private companies are saying they can't wait for this. So let's get the government to change its perspective on this.
Sorry for the long answer.
:
Good afternoon, Chair, members of the committee, and fellow hostages of the committee. Jack and Gary are good folks, and I'm happy to be on a deserted island with them today.
A little bit about us: we are the Canadian building trades and represent 14 international construction unions, which in turn represent more than 500,000 skilled trade workers in Canada and more than four million in the Unied States. We are fully integrated with our other North American partners.
The foreign credential recognition process is an integral part of our business planning in construction. We work with the same major construction contractors on both sides of the border, who in turn do business with the same energy companies in Texas, Alberta, Cape Breton, Newfoundland, New York, and everywhere in between.
This convergence in the energy sector is not going away. I submit that Canada needs to be ready to work with our American partners to fill the needs of construction employers. If you think about it, there really is no need to go anywhere else in the world for skilled workers. We do business with large and small industrial contractors in construction that do business in both free market economies.
The North American economy is essentially fully integrated in most aspects, except for labour market policies. We have harmonized regulations for jujubes, harmonized freight labeling regulations.... In most aspects, we are fully integrated with the economy of the United States generally, except for an easy way to facilitate the movement of skilled workers involved in construction.
Today, I'm not promoting the full integration of our two labour markets. What I will do is propose a couple of solutions to the FCR process that ought to assist meet labour market demands in Canada, which is expected to peak in the very near future.
The work involved or financial resources required in assessing the qualifications of our closest neighbours will pay dividends to our country in the future. By the way, it has been forecast by the construction sector council that by 2017 we will need 320,000 new skilled trade workers in Canada, due to retirements and new economic demands. If this isn't a call to action by the committee and beyond, I'm not sure what is.
Here are my four practical solutions for the FCR process--that's what I was asked to speak about today: first, we need leadership from the Government of Canada and leadership from opposition parties; second, “red seal” exams until the cows come home; third, more occupations and trades included in the “red seal” standard; fourth, value for money in labour market development agreements.
The key players regulating the skilled trades are the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship, the Red Seal Secretariat--which is HRSDC--and the provincial apprenticeship and licensing bodies.
We need leadership from the Government of Canada and leadership from the opposition parties. What we need in construction is a coordination of these groups working in conjunction with industry, employers, and labour providers. We need the CCDA to talk to us, both as a group of directors of apprenticeship and also as the individual provincial regulator. We need them to talk to employers and help us find people. For example, in the building trades we have access to a large pool of workers in the U.S.A. There is currently no special treatment for U.S. workers in the temporary foreign worker program, mainly because we don't seem to have the resources to come up with a matrix to examine 50 or so apprenticeship systems south of the border.
It is unclear why each of the provinces, the CCDA, and the Red Seal Secretariat haven't looked at the training systems in the U.S. and made it easy for employers and labour providers to access this pool. If a plumber from New York is qualified to work on the Empire State Building, what in heck do we need to do to have that person come to Toronto to work?
Part of the practical solution is organizing this information in one place, a one-stop shop for construction employers to figure out who to hire and from where. Armed with this information, applying to get these folks into the country through the temporary foreign worker process would be a breeze. We would know what a steamfitter from Illinois would be qualified to do and where, all before that person arrives on the six daily flights from Chicago.
Second is the red seal exams until the cows come home. What we need in construction in FCR is the red seal exam to be administered overseas on an ongoing basis, including every other week in the United States. The building trade unions in the U.S. are teaching the program in Chicago, Washington, Oregon, Michigan, and the list goes on. Why can't these folks write the exam down there before they come here? Then we have a pre-qualified pool of workers already certified to work in Canada. We need consulates, missions, and embassies working for Canadian industry in this regard as well.
The infrastructure is already in place. I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel with my suggestions; I'm trying to be practical. We offer up our infrastructure in the United States. We have 4,000 locals in the United States to administer the exam, and if we're ever called upon, we'll do our part for the industry in Canada.
Third is more occupations and trades included in the red seal standard. We need more red seal trades, more trade to go through this process, and if Canada decides what competencies are required where, the easier it will be to determine who else in the world has these qualifications. Canada is in competition with the rest of the world to attract investment. Without a workforce to build it, we will fall behind. Talk to large energy players in Calgary about what their number one concern is. You can bet your bottom dollar it's about labour supply and it's about the ability to actually build their project.
Fourth is value for money in the labour market agreements. Labour market development agreements are a huge opportunity for the federal government to show leadership in the FCR process. These deals give the provinces money. It's basically a fully devolved decision-making process with the provinces. So the federal government writes cheques. These LMDAs make the federal government the writers of cheques only. Why not use them to shape foreign credential recognition policy?
I'm not talking about socialism. I'm not talking about tied aid from the federal government. I'm talking about how to get value for money in these labour market development agreements. We're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars that already flow between the federal government and the provinces. Let's get value for money, in capital letters, and ensure the provincial regulators are planning for their labour markets of the future. Instead of giving provincial governments carte blanche to do yet another study or another web portal, which tells us what we already know, setting a path and showing leadership on LMDAs might be a good start.
In conclusion, I hope I have provided four practical solutions to the committee.
I also want to draw the committee's attention to a 2007 Construction Sector Council study called “Foreign Credential Recognition Construction Industry Strategy”. We have the strategy. It's about four or five years old. I also direct you to internationallytrainedworkers.ca. There's some excellent product put together by the construction industry.
I brought with me another study, authored again by the Construction Sector Council, for the committee's review. It outlines the suitability of 15 countries and their apprenticeship systems. No surprises in this study: the U.S. ranks first in suitability in terms of meshing our apprentice systems. I thus table this report as well.
:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for inviting us here today. I'm Gary Friend, a past president of CHBA. I'm a new home builder in Surrey, British Columbia, where I've been building custom and multi-family homes for over 25 years. With me today is Jack Mantyla, the national coordinator of education and training with the Canadian Home Builders' Association.
I should mention that we've tabled a CHBA report for the committee, “CHBA Backgrounder on Federal Policies and Regulations Related to the Immigration of Skilled Labour”.
Like many industry sectors, the residential construction industry will experience serious shortages of skilled tradespeople in the years ahead. We have been experiencing shortages of labour in markets across Canada for some time. Training programs such as provincial apprenticeship programs will not be able to supply enough skilled people to meet the demand looking forward.
The nature of the residential construction industry influences our views about immigration of skilled labour.
First, many skilled tradespeople in the residential construction industry are employed under contract, whether immigrant or Canadian-born.
Second, most of the companies in the residential construction industry are small businesses. They do not have the resources on their own to address what can be a very complex and lengthy process to find and hire a skilled immigrant worker.
Third, many of the skilled tradespeople working in the residential construction industry are not recognized by the red seal program and therefore do not receive the same level of recognition in other immigration programs, such as red seal trades.
The CHBA supports the recent direction of Canada's immigration policies, including more provincial involvement and responsibility; more flexibility in the range of occupations eligible for programs, such as the provincial nominee program and the temporary foreign worker program; more responsiveness to the employer requirements, with a shift to employer determination of occupations in need; and increased opportunities to immigrate for people who work within Canada. I'm speaking of the introduction of the Canadian experience class, and the mandatory language requirement, introduced in 2010.
The CHBA has expressed support for these and other recent measures in submissions to Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.
There are two issues related to recognition of foreign credentials that are important for skilled trades: first, language requirements; and, second, recognition of provincially designated residential trades.
In relation to the first point, the language requirements of the federal skilled worker category of the economic immigrants program over-emphasizes the requirements for people working in the residential construction industry. The tiered approach to language proficiency used under the Canadian experience class would be more appropriate for skilled tradespeople.
In relation to the second point, many of the trades required by our industry are provincially designated but not recognized by the red seal program. Also, some do not have the unique national occupational classification codes used by immigration programs. These shortcomings seriously limit the ability of our industry to make use of immigration programs.
I should note that we have recently written to the Forum of Labour Market Ministers to ask them to put this issue of recognition of provincially designated residential construction trades on their agenda. The CHBA believes that broadening recognition of residential construction trades beyond red seal to include all provincially designated trades is one of the most effective means by which governments in Canada can reduce skilled trades shortages and increase labour mobility in the residential construction industry.
The allocation of points for education and experience used in the federal skilled worker category for skilled tradespeople gives relatively greater weight to education over practical experience.
Arranged employment is difficult for many companies. Current immigration programs lack flexibility to accommodate a worker being employed by two or more employers.
On behalf of the CHBA, we're making the following recommendations to the standing committee about the recognition of foreign credentials:
Apply the tiered approach to language proficiency requirements used in the Canadian experience class to other programs, particularly the federal skilled worker category of the economic immigrant program.
Incorporate the issue of recognition of provincially designed residential construction trades not covered by the red seal program into the pan-Canadian framework for the assessment and recognition of foreign credentials.
We'd like to make two other recommendations. Greater consideration must be given to the work experience of skilled tradespeople in the point system ratings of the federal skilled worker category. And in order to meet the arranged employment criterion, there must be more flexibility to accommodate working for two or more employers.
All of these recommendations are designed to address the growing and serious shortage of skilled tradespeople in our industry.
Thank you.
:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and welcome to our witnesses.
I'm not usually a member of this committee, but the testimony I've heard here today is quite fascinating and it raises a number of challenges that cross provincial and territorial borders and is of fairly significant interest to me. I have a point to make, and then I have a couple of questions.
My point is that somehow in the mix across this country of ours we have allowed our youth, our kids in their formative years, when they're being educated, to think that not all work is meaningful. I think that's a fundamental societal change that we really have to struggle with and come to grips with, because all work is meaningful, and it's as simple as that.
I understand the difference between the challenges in residential construction and industrial. But your suggestion, Mr. Smillie, was on points for education over experience, or was that Mr. Friend?
I think that's an excellent recommendation. It makes a world of sense. Our red seal program works well for skilled trades because it allows transferability of skills from one end of the country to the other. It does get caught up in a little bit of jurisdictional red tape every once in a while, and that needs to be worked out. But if we're looking at foreign credentials especially, would you elaborate a bit more on that?
Part of the problem for writing the red seal test is that, number one, you can't write it just anywhere in Canada, you have to go to where the test is given. With the ability to interface with electronics today, and with computers, it shouldn't matter where you are in the country. You should be able to write that exam online or face to face with someone who is going to grade it.
Do you want to comment on that? There are two different issues there.