Pluri Vox Media Corp. Helping Cultures Communicate 2 - 283 Stewart Street Ottawa, K1N 6K3 www.plurivox.ca Tel. (613) 261-1596 Fax: (613) 241 4226

IMMIGRATION AND FOREIGN CREDENTIALS:

A LAND OF OPPORTUNITY FOR THE BRILLIANT

Prepared for Canadian Heritage Multiculturalism Program

by

Pluri Vox Media Corp.

March 2004 Pluri Vox Media Corp. www.plurivox.ca

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 3

Introduction, Sources, Method ...... 3

Legal perspective: which level of government is responsible? ...... 3

Existing framework: provincial and municipal programs ...... 5

Bureaucratic Barriers ...... 5 The federal landscape ...... 5 Canadian work experience needed ...... 6 Language obstacles ...... 8

Racism and Discrimination Barriers ...... 9 Public, private and institutional behaviors ...... 9

Costs: financial, skill loss and lawsuits...... 10

Useful Programs ...... 15 Provincial initiatives ...... 15 Self-help ...... 17 Advocates’ initiatives ...... 19

Conclusion & Recommendations: What Remains To Be Done ...... 21

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In response to a Canadian Heritage Department request for an analysis of the foreign credentials issue as perceived in non-official language media, Pluri Vox Media Corp. has produced the following report, the second in four years. Culling close to 200 news summaries, translated from twenty-three communities in Canada, sources from Montreal to , Pluri Vox identified four distinct trends in the surveyed since 2000, as follows. First, bureaucratic barriers, in particular, work-experience and language barriers were the two most significant obstructions to newcomers’ ability to gain employment or work relevant to their prior experience and skills. Second, systemic racism and discriminatory obstacles, with institutional, private and public sector stakeholders played a role, an issue which is addressed in more detail in a related Pluri Vox report also produced in Spring of 2004. Third, Pluri Vox examined a variety of costs: financial, legal and social, with concrete, evaluated dollar amounts and an emphasis on which segments of society paid the dearest price. Finally, at least three sub-trends of useful initiatives were also identified: at the provincial level, in self–help programs, and with advocates from all levels of government and the private sector. Because of the legal framework and the historical contradictions that form the two main roots of immigrants’ foreign credential recognition problems, this analysis also makes a few recommendations, the chief one being that the federal government take the initiative to set up a foreign credentials board that would serve to validate – at the national level - newcomers’ experience, education and skills.

Introduction, Sources, Method

The Canadian Heritage Department’s Multiculturalism program in the Winter of 2003- 2004 asked Pluri Vox Media Corp. to supply an analysis of ethnic media on the issue of foreign credentials. This report is the response to that request, and is the second such report since 2002. “Foreign credentials” can be broadly defined as those degrees, diplomas, memberships --in professional or technical guilds -- skills, and abilities that newcomers (immigrants and refugees) hold when they arrive in Canada. The database from which this report is drawn dates back to December 2000 and covers 23 communities in 18 languages across Canada and over 150 newspapers of the daily, weekly and monthly categories. Hundreds of news items, ranging from 50 to 300 words were culled, translated into one of the two official languages, and analyzed yielding four trends, as follows: (a) bureaucratic barriers, of which work experience gaps, and language obstacles were the two major sub-trends; (b) racism or discriminatory barriers, where both the private and the public sectors contributed; (c) costs, where both financial and non-monetary played a role; and (d) useful programs, where three sub-trends were identified as (i) provincial programs, (ii) self help and (iii) advocates. Each of the four trends and their attributes are examined in more detail below. However, in order to put this new information in perspective, it is useful to provide a very brief legal and existing framework overview.

Legal perspective: which level of government is responsible?

Legally, the Constitution of Canada clearly sets out in section 92 that licensing is a provincial

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jurisdiction.1 Therefore, the regulation of the professions and trades should normally be the subject of provincial debate and initiatives. The problem arises when newcomers – defined broadly here as immigrants and refugees – enter the concurrent jurisdiction of federal and provincial matters, because immigration is a mixed, federal and provincial field of competence.2 That is, practically speaking, the federal government sets the levels at which, globally newcomers will arrive in Canada, however the provinces are left to their own devices as to how to integrate and settle the newcomers in each of the ten provincial jurisdictions.

In addition, in case of conflict between provincial and federal law, Canadian law dictates that federal law takes precedence. This is exactly what occurred in the case of Mr. Jaswant Singh Mangat, and his immigration consultancy company Westcoast Immigration Consultants Ltd.3 In short, the law society of British Columbia ruled, and a lower court agreed, that Mr. Mangat had no right to practice law, as he was not accredited with the province’s law regulatory body. Mr. Mangat argued that the Immigration Act permitted him to represent clients in certain cases before the Immigration & Refugee Board. The dispute reached the Supreme Court of Canada, which ruled in 2001, that although there was a conflict between BC law and immigration law (the latter permitting Mr. Mangat to represent some clients in certain circumstances), the federal immigration trumped the provincial law. This case illustrates well how jurisdiction quandaries can be resolved.

Thus, several provinces, Quebec and among them, have, over the years arranged with Ottawa for special immigration programs, allowing them to have more input in the profile of the newcomers they welcome into their territory. Ontario in the past two years has been especially active in trying to obtain the same sort of independence. However, the picture is further complicated by transfer payments, that is, the funding that the federal government allocates to the provinces. In a recent report, it was noted that Quebec receives three times as much funding for the settlement of immigrants than does Ontario, although the latter receives far more newcomers.

While the sources of this report are exclusively from non-mainstream newspapers, also known as the “ethnic press,” it may help to put the report in broader perspective by noting the foreign credentials concerns voiced by so many stakeholders are also echoed in mainstream press. For instance, the Ontario Bar Association’s Immigration Section Chair David L. Garson explained that he has clients who, “in good faith make application under the skilled worker category, [hoping] they can come to Canada to contribute to building our economy. When they find out that the processing could take as

1 Specifically, the Constitution Act 1867 states: “In each Province the Legislature may exclusively make Laws in relation to Matters coming within the Classes of Subjects next hereinafter enumerated; that is to say, (...) Shop, Saloon, Tavern, Auctioneer, and other Licences in order to the raising of a Revenue for Provincial, Local, or Municipal Purposes.” (…) 2 Section 95, Constitution Act 1867, which states in part: “…any Law of the Legislature of a Province relative to … Immigration shall have effect in and for the Province as long and as far only as it is not repugnant to any Act of the Parliament of Canada.” 3 The case is: Law Society of British Columbia v. Mangat [2001] 3 Supreme Court Reports, p. 113

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much as five or six years, they are really frustrated.”4

Existing framework: provincial and municipal programs

Like the report on recognition of foreign credentials that Pluri Vox produced in 2002, the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials5 is not once mentioned in the summaries surveyed here. Nor is the problem of foreign credentials new or particular to Canada. As was pointed out in the 2002 Pluri Vox analysis of this topic, academic research into the roots of the problem can be traced back to 1988,6 and were continued to 2002.7 As far as other nations facing these issues, the United States has a special tribunal in place to rule on cases where foreign credentials arise.8 Several programs based in are geared towards immigrant employment. The Maytree Foundation, in particular, in collaboration with the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) and the Multiculturalism Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage have collaborated on producing reports and bringing key decision-makers together. Most recently Human Resources Skills Development Minister Joe Volpe was at a TRIEC forum to promote immigrant employment.9 However, the following analysis focuses exclusively on Canada’s experience with foreign credentials since 2000, from the federal, provincial, and immigrants themselves perspectives.

Bureaucratic Barriers

The federal landscape

This recurrent topic in the ethnic media is useful to launch the discussion since it squarely addresses the federal-provincial tension alluded to in the previous paragraphs. Then cabinet member Herb Dhaliwal and BC Member of Parliament Gurmant Grewal in February 2001 emphasized an urgent

4 Law Times, 1 March 2004. 5 CICIC’s website is at www.cicic.ca 6 McDade K., “Barriers to Recognition of the Credentials of Immigrants in Canada”, 1988, Ottawa, Institute for Research on Public Policy. 7 See for example recent studies like Smith, M., "Recognition of Foreign Credentials: A Survey of recent Community- based and research projects (1995-2001)", Strategic Planning, Multiculturalism program, 2001, Ref SRA-586-e, available at http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/multi/pubs/sra-ras/sra-ras_e.pdf Sangster D., "Assessing and Recognizing Foreign Credentials in Canada -Employers' Views", Canadian Labour & Business Centre, 2001; Alboim, N., "Fulfilling the Promise: Integrating Immigrant Skills into the Canadian Economy," The Maytree Foundation, Ottawa: Caledon Institute of Social Policy, April 2002. available at http://www.maytree.com/RefugeeImmigrantProgram/Publications 8 Unites States Code, Title 8, s. 1153 (b) 9 See the TRIEC website at www.triec.ca

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need to recognize immigrants’ foreign credentials. Mr. Dhaliwal was responding in part to reports from BC that federal training program to upgrade newcomers skills were only available to those receiving employment insurance.10 The report stemmed from an analysis provided by Mr. Jagroop Brar, then executive director of the Self-Employment Entrepreneur Society in BC, who was responding to the Governor General’s throne speech for the 37th Parliament. But even with these initiatives, federal programs were at times viewed with a wary eye: the regulations promulgated under then Citizenship & Immigration Minister Denis Coderre were said to be nothing short of “Orwellian” in their capacity to curtail skilled workers from reaching the Canadian workplace. The Association of Immigration Counsel of Canada suggested that the new rules were really a ploy to create a moratorium in order to deal with the backlog in the departments’ caseload.11

Canadian work experience needed

The Southeast Asian population (Pakistan, India, SriLanka) seemed particularly wary of employers’ demands for Canadian work experience. One editorial stated that this was frequently the first question asked of newcomers upon applying for a position that matched their skill: “What Canadian experience do you have?” The applicant’s response is then followed by the employer’s advice: acquire additional education and knowledge.12 The editor pointed out that even if these two conditions – education and knowledge – were fulfilled, the applicant was still lacking the work experience that was asked about initially. This quandary is confirmed by the recurrence of the “experience lacking” scenario.13 A Srilankan weekly reported that many in the Tamil community resort to volunteer positions or rushed into low-paid work to glean appropriate work experience and language fluency. 14 A forum involving Greek, Chinese, Indian and Slovenian community representatives residing in the Greater Toronto Area concluded that lack of Canadian work experience was the most significant barrier for most immigrants.15

One contributor suggested that Canada excels in luring newcomers to the country with descriptions of dreamy positions and incredible incomes. But it would be a dishonest to continue to perpetuate this false idea, because until one gains the elusive Canadian work experience required for these

10 The Link, 3 February 2001, Surrey. 11 The Spectrum, August 2002, Ottawa. 12 Pakeeza, 17 April 2001, Toronto 13 The Pakistan Post, 22 August 2001, Toronto, Manila Media Monitor, September 2001, Toronto, The Spectrum, 27 January 2001, Ottawa, Ulahath Thamilar, 2 January 2004, Toronto. 14 Ulahath Thamilar, 2 January 2004, Toronto 15 Hellenic News, July 2003, London (ON).

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positions, one remains a casualty of this new slavery of under-or .16

The manner in which provincial and federal stakeholders interact to help resolve this problem is best illustrated by three examples. First, when the federal Immigration Department passed regulations on the point-system for skilled workers, an official was quoted a saying that even with a Master’s degree and fluency in an official language, many newcomers would not qualify. The remark prompted one commentator to note that Canada was indeed a land of opportunity, but only for the brilliant.17 The second was Manitoba’s Health Minister’s initiative to launch an accreditation program for some one hundred Manitoba doctors who were not employed in their field.18 But as we shall see below, some of the programs fell short of meeting their initial goals. The third example is the effect of Immigration department’s regulation on the younger force, namely that of students. The Canada Chinese Association spokesman Tang Youzhi said the department’s new rules would negatively impact students whose dream is frequently to follow their study by an application for immigration.19 The new regulation would shatter that dream because the student would not be able to garner the necessary work experience. Each of these examples illustrates willingness at the political level but a resistance at the implementation stage.

With respect to federal-provincial collaboration in the area of credentials, a university professor was quoted as saying that the federal-provincial arrangements that are currently in place for credentials are simply not working. It is Canadian employers – a third force in the equation – who demand work experience.20 In fact, regulation of the private sector in this respect was hoped for and desired: newcomers reported that they responded to job application either from abroad or in Canada, offering very specialized skills and experience. Headhunting agencies played a role in the placement. But the position eventually secured by the newcomer was far from what was originally promoted. The result was work-place absenteeism.21

Certain employment barriers appear to be race-centric, such as the health care-Filipino nurse conundrum, where it was estimated by one federal study that there are more than 1,000 nursing vacancies in BC, and yet thousands of Filipino-trained nurses were under-employed as live-in care workers.22 In fact, the health care sector’s inability to incorporate the assistance or credentials of

16 Share, 11 July 2002, Toronto. 17 The Jewish Post & News, February 2002, . 18 Ukrainian Voice, 7 May 2001, Winnipeg. 19 Ming Pao, 31 March 2002, Toronto. 20 The Korea Times Daily, 31 January 2003, Toronto; The Korea Central Daily, 31 January 2003, Toronto. 21 The Korea Central Daily, 13 February 2001, Toronto. 22 Manila Media Monitor, September 2001, Toronto.

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foreign workers seemed to gather more criticism than other areas, especially in Ontario with the provincial initiatives being attacked by health critics as gimmicks, public relations scams, or even proof of Canada’s “disdain,” a serious charge when close to a million Ontario residents were said to be unable to find a family doctor.23

Language obstacles

Landed immigrants in Canada know that they must master one of the two official languages in order to secure satisfactory work.24 In fact, in the Urdu-speaking community, for example, acquiring a passable job is really only a stepping stone to a better, more profitable career, and also a necessary path to acquire mandatory languages skills. For others, not knowing an official language is a sure road to unemployment.25 However, for one analyst, fluency in one of the official languages in Canada was not even an advantage, given the standards set by the point system on experience and technical skills.26 As one editorialist put it, the “first suitable job is really just a precursor to a better career later on.” 27 By June 2003, the plight of PhD holding taxi drivers had made its way to a Parliamentary committee – finally.28 One testimonial from a witness at the committee said the barriers that stood before immigrants made a mockery of the immigration system in Canada which otherwise permitted them to enter the country and placed emphasis on their education and work experience29 – measured with a point system.

Furthermore, language exams for job applicants from countries where English was already a formal education medium was also seen as a barrier.30 But the clearest impediment to immigrants integrating their skills into the Canadian workforce appears to be the drop in funding to English as Second Language (ESL) programs. Despite growing demands, provincial ESL programs have been cut back drastically in Ontario and BC, reports said.31 ESL professor Norman Beach was quoted in Gazeta as saying that given the contributions of newcomers to Canada, and our mutual need to have immigrants integrate as quickly as possible, why are we shutting the classroom door in their faces?

23 The Spectrum, 27 January 2001, Ottawa; The Spectrum, 15 May 2002, Ottawa; Panj Pani, 23 June 2002, Toronto. 24 The Korea Central Daily, 19 September 2003, Toronto; The Pakistan Post, 22 August 2002, Ottawa. 25 Ming Pao, 17 August 2003, Vancouver. 26 The Spectrum, August 2002, Ottawa. 27 The Pakistan Post, 22 August 2001, Toronto. 28 The Spectrum, 15 June 2003, Ottawa. 29 The Spectrum, 15 June 2003, Ottawa. 30 The Philippine Times, September 2003, Winnipeg. 31 Gazeta, 12,13,14, September 2003, Toronto.)

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Racism and Discrimination Barriers

Public, private and institutional behaviors

Newcomer communities perceive a gap between what the federal government spokespersons and stakeholders promote from abroad and within Canada to potential immigrants, and the package they receive when they arrive in Canada. For instance, it is “surprising,” wrote one contributor, that despite assurances from the federal government of equal job opportunities, they do not help newcomers in their trek towards satisfactory employment, and this appears to be because of “racial discrimination and negligence of those in power.” 32 This view was confirmed in a study for the Department of Canadian Heritage where professor Jeffrey G. Reitz of Toronto University found that immigrant skill use generated up to $15 billion annually for the Canadian market, and yet many of those who make these contributions are under-employed.

Part of the explanation for this gap is that there exists a form of “invisible race discrimination in the employment market place,” Professor Reitz was quoted a saying.33 One analyst argued that old- fashioned greed had much to do with the racism cited to explain away the barriers of discriminatory practices in the market place. Said this observer: “limiting the number of professionals demanding money for services” already provided by Canadian professionals “has some advantages,” said one editor.34 It ensures that those currently employed maintain their positions.

At least one professional perceived the racism barrier sufficiently clearly to consider a legal challenge to the College of Physicians and Surgeon in Ontario, with patients rallying around the doctor when formal accreditation was refused to him.35 Likewise in BC, a Filipino nurses group challenged the Registered Nurses Association of BC when a nurse shortage solution was termed short-sighted and discriminatory: English was already used as language of education in the Philippines and it was in this language that the Filipino nurses obtained their degrees, therefore, why impose an examination in Canada? was the question posed.36

At a broader level, a survey in BC found that up to 45 percent of Chinese immigrants in Canada said they would leave Canada once they had obtained their Canadian passport, given the “difficult time” they experienced in finding employment and making a living in Canada. One spokesman said a chief

32 Watan, 23 march 2001, Toronto. 33 The Link, 23 March 2002, Surrey, BC; The Korea Times Daily, 21 March 2002, Toronto. 34 The Indo-Canadian Voice, 20 July 2002, Surrey BC. 35 Sing Tao, 26 October 2002, Toronto; Ming Pao, 26 October 2002, Toronto. 36 The Philippine Times, September 2002, Winnipeg.

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problem was employers’ refusal to recognize their work and professional credentials.37 While this very issue was recognized by then Immigration Minister Denis Coderre, who was quoted as saying that “Canada simply cannot permit itself to ignore the potential of recent arrivals,”38 editorialists questioned the legal framework in place arguing that “immigration law is only to derive financial benefits from, but not to sympathize with newcomers.”39

Juxtaposing Canada’s clear demand for highly skilled immigrants with the reality faced by many under-employed newcomers holding post-graduate degrees, one commentator concluded that it was clear that Canada did not really need skilled and experienced professionals, since Canadians were being selected for the positions because of “some unknown grounds.”40 Quebec immigration lawyer William Tetley was quoted as saying that this province’s policy was “discriminatory” because it openly ignored skilled applicants who did not speak French.41

Citing some 40,000 skilled immigrants who arrived in Ontario in the past decade, thousands were left hustling pizzas or grinding their lives away at the wheel of a taxi cab, and it was minorities who were the hardest hit, exposed as they are to subtle and informal exploitation in the Canadian workplace.42 The discriminatory practices – akin to those that hurt the Italian community in the 1960s - now “hit the Asian minorities hardest,” said Mr. Rocco Lofranco, a former employee of the Workers Compensation Board in Toronto, as employers used threats of immigration irregularities to cow workers into unpopular positions or wages, especially in the textile trades where women are predominantly employed.43

The Somalian and other predominantly Muslim communities joined forces, organized seminars so that women wearing the hijab might explain their experiences in seeking employment while wearing the religious attire: the research documented the discriminatory practices found in Canada’s employment offices.44 A Tamil editorialist concluded that racism was among the key forces that made gainful employment a dream more than a reality for Tamils in Canada.45 That racism is a force in the

37 , 31 December 2002, Vancouver; , 31 December 2002, Vancouver. 38 El Mensajaro, 15 May 2003, Gatineau, QC. 39 Pakeeza, 24 June 2003, Toronto. 40 The Russian Express, 26 September 2003, Toronto 41 Thoi Bao, 21 November 2003, Toronto, 42 Share, 19 February 2004, Toronto. 43 Corriere Canadese, 20 December 2000, Toronto. 44 The Somali Press, May 2002, Toronto. 45 Ulahath Thamilare, 2 January 2004, Toronto.

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broader workplace – that is one that includes Canadians of color was confirmed by a Canadian Labor Congress report which confirmed that women of color are extremely badly paid, and that workers of color born in Canada were doing as poorly as those who immigrate to Canada.46

A few concrete examples and their interpretation in the editorials of the ethnic media will illustrate where racism is located on the scale of barriers that hinder employment for newcomers. When 52-year old Mohinder Kaur Sunar, a farm worker died in strange circumstances on his way to work, the Workers Compensation Board called for a coroner’s inquest into the crash, as the van he was using was woefully overcrowded. Farm workers’ exploitation and plight was also the subject of a documentary film in Ontario by Min Sook, titled “The Contract.”47 In British Columbia, although Mandarin-speaking Chinese represent five percent of the BC population, less than one percent are represented in government and public services, and this can only be due to invisible, but nevertheless real, racial exclusion in hiring, argued Canada-Mandarin Chinese Association spokesman Jiao Haitao.48 If these anecdotal examples were not sufficient to confirm a trend of racism acting as a barrier to the immigrant workforce, Statistics Canada was cited reporting that newcomers were unable to secure sufficient on-the-job- training, were not treated equally, and received fewer training hours.49 Given these systemic barriers, what were some of the costs the Canadian economy paid as a result?

Costs: financial, skill loss and lawsuits.

Beyond Professor Reitz’s $15 billion estimate for newcomer un- and under-employment costs, there were also more specific examples of price-tags associated to the barriers that hinder the true economic flourishing of immigrants in Canada. Keenly aware that mainstream Canadian media is at times critical of provincial and federal investment for immigrant training programs, one of the most vocal advocates for the Chinese community, SUCCESS spokeswoman Taohuang Yabin said the under-employment of immigrants was “a great loss for Canada” and that newcomers – as they were – were a great asset rather than a bane to the Canadian economy.50

Those who argued for a more accurate evaluation of newcomer skills were forward-looking: in 2020, one editorialist argued, Canada will be looking to fill a million positions because of changing demographics: the first price to pay will be in health care and then pension plans will go dry. However

46 Indo-Canadian Voice, 30 November 2002, Surrey, BC. 47 Indo-Canadian Voice, 19 July 2003, Surrey, BC; The Link, 19 July 2003, Surrey, BC; ref. the documentary film see El Mundo Latino News, 19 September 2003, Toronto. 48 Ming Pao, 24 August 2003, Toronto. 49 The Korea Central Daily, 22 October 2003, Toronto. 50 Ming Pao Daily, 13 April 2002, Vancouver.

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qualifying immigrants in their “old” jobs in the “new” country would help prevent these problems before they occur, said one writer.51 This pessimistic view was echoed by a Statistics Canada report showing that 18 percent of Canadians (some 4 million people) were dissatisfied with health and hospital services – and unless currently available immigrant professionals were welcomed into the work force, Canada would “be in big trouble.”52

Furthermore, no less than 10 newspapers in as many communities interpreted the 2001 census to mean that immigrants were simply not earning as much as their Canadian native counterparts,53 which was a waste of human talent, beyond the cost to the immigrants themselves.54 Ms. Taohuang of the BC SUCCESS group had also calculated the costs to lost trade and overseas business as soon as Chinese and other classes of immigrants stopped selecting Canada as their land of residence because skills were not being recognized.55 On average, a report said, immigrants earn 79 cents to every dollar a Canadian citizen earns, whereas in 1990 this figure was ninety cents to the dollar. One report put as high as 7- percent the number of highly skilled professionals “turned into factory hands.”56

Other statistics showed that while it took five years for a newcomer in the eighties to reach the same wage levels as his or her Canadian counterparts at work, this lead-time had grown to ten years in the modern day; “but these statistics were not surprising given the state of immigration policies in this country,” an editorial said. 57 Another analysis of the same trend said women fared better than men in the salary gap, but globalization and inter-state competition were probably as much to blame as the Canadian government for the growing gap between newcomer wages and Canadians earnings.58 Overall, one Japanese thinker said, Census 2001 statistics showed that even when immigrants are more highly educated than their Canadian counterparts, “they have to live twice” in order to reach

51 The World Mirror, 24 July 2002, Toronto 52 Gazeta, 7 August 2002, Toronto 53 Sing Tao Daily, 12 March 2003, Vancouver; Korea Times Daily, 12, 17 March 2003, Toronto; Korea Central Daily, 12, 17 March 2003, Toronto; Corriere Canadese, 12 March 2003, Toronto; Il Cittadino Canadese, 12 March 2003, Montreal; News: Corriere Italiano, 12 March 2003, Montreal: Iran Star, Toronto, 14 March 2003, Toronto; Sing Tao, 12 March 2003, Toronto; India Abroad, 14 March 2003, Etobicoke; The Link, 15 March 2003, Surrey, BC. 54 India Abroad, 4 July 2003, Etobicoke, ON. 55 Ming Pao Daily, 20 February 2002, Vancouver; Sing Tao Daily, 20 February 2002, Vancouver. 56 Awam, 7 March 2003, Toronto. 57 The Russian-Canadian info, September 2003, Toronto. 58 Korea Times Daily, 9 October 2003, Toronto; El Popular, 9 October 2003, Toronto; Iran Star, 10 October 2003, Toronto.

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the same quality of life and a comparable salary. 59

These statistics and analyses were relevant to those making emigrating choices and decisions, and Ms Taohuang of SUCCESS argued that new Chinese immigrants were already starting to turn from Canada towards Australia and other host nations, in part because of the lack of recognition of their skills and credentials and in part because of embassy and processing delays.60 One analysis put at 25 percent the number of immigrants returning to their homelands after they found they were unable to find employment suited to their qualifications, and “none other than the federal government was to blame for this loss to the country.”61

This policy gap captured the attention of the private sector in the United States: World Education Services (WES)62 worked with the Province of Ontario to set up Qualification Assessment Centers to assist newcomers penetrate the job market, with public funding of more than quarter million dollars earmarked for this initiative.63 WES also estimated that some 40,000 highly skilled immigrants have made their homes in Toronto in the past decade, and that of these 75 percent of the skills and credentials it evaluated equaled or exceeded Canadian standards.64 Nor was the immigrant class bitter enough to refuse work, argued one editorialist: “Korean immigrants are now looking to obtain their certification in hairdressing and truck driving in order simply to overcome unemployment.”65

Politicians also realized that there were costs attached to the under- and unemployment of qualified immigrants: Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty was quoted as saying that poverty among immigrants had grown more than 10 percent in twenty years, and that permitting newcomers to hold positions they are already qualified for would bring up to $ 6 billion to the Ontario economy annually. But the budgets being earmarked for managing these issues appeared paltry: in 2001, for example, the Ontario government offered some $12 million towards overall training programs aimed at newcomers.66 Then Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) Minister Jane Stewart’s announcement of a $1.2 million grant to SUCCESS in BC was seen as “forward-looking” in the assistance it would permit

59 The Nikka Times, 17 October 2003, Toronto. 60 Ming Pao Daily News, 22 March 2003, Vancouver; India Journal, 30 March 2001, Mississauga, ON. 61 Indo-Canadian Voice, 6 September 2003, Surrey, BC; Panj Pani, 25 August 2003, Toronto. 62 Established in 1974 in the United States, WES is a non-profit organization with newly opened offices in Toronto, see their website at http://www.wes.org/ca/ 63 World Journal 3 November 2003, Toronto 64 Share, 15 May 2003, Toronto. 65 The Korea Times Daily, 18 June 2003, Toronto. 66 The Korea Times Daily, 30 and 31 May 2001, Toronto.

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to extend to immigrants in the province.67 But at least one federal-provincial initiative was also under fire as being too costly to run despite the advantages it seemed to bring to at least one community: the Filipino nurse and live-in-caregivers. Because the workers in these positions work 24 hours a day as nannies and care givers, and not as the nurses they are trained to be and have worked as, they are vulnerable and experience skill loss, while they earn rock-bottom wages and hold only temporary status in the country.68

In fact, in Ontario, the health care system seemed to suffer especially of the radical lack of qualified personnel: the Ontario Committee of Family Physicians in the Fall of 2003 reported that up to 33 percent of Ontario residents have difficulty finding family doctors especially in suburban areas. This situation was contrasted to the vast numbers of newcomer physicians awaiting recognition.69 This alarming trend, it was noted, should be attended to by the federal government, which is responsible for permitting doctors and health care professionals to enter the country based on their credentials and education. So, this editorial argued, why are professionals being deprived of applying their skills if they are being let into Canada thanks to these assets? 70 By way of an answer, one estimate found that some 201,000 technically qualified immigrants had arrived into Canada in 2002, each having paid a $500 fee with their application, 71or a government revenue of more than $100 million.

To sum up the costs involved in “employing doctors to deliver pizzas rather than babies,” the precedent-setting case of the an Alberta couple suing the federal government because they were unable to find suitable employment here may be indicative of the coming state of affairs.72 The lawsuit asserts that Canadian officials misled the applicants about their ability to secure professional positions in Canada. In the balance, however, a $330 million HRDC program earmarked for overall workforce training programs was well received, inasmuch as immigrants were among the six or more social categories, who would benefit from the federal grants.73 Other litigation impacted Canada’s human rights tribunals, wherein five doctors from Russia, Italy, Romania, India and the Philippines sued for compensation when a provincial College of Physicians failed to recognize their credentials, giving rise to loss of wages. Some of the doctors on appeal won a $150,000 award. One doctor who won an internship said it took her 13 years to get a position. One argument in the litigation, launched in 1991, was that Canada’s physician colleges made it impossible to practice medicine here with

67 World Journal, 18 July 2002, Vancouver. 68 The Philippine Reporter, 15 September 2003, Toronto. 69 Gazeta, 9 October 2003, Toronto; The Korea central Daily, 9 October 2003, Toronto. 70 Pakeeza, 17 February 2004, Toronto 71 Gazeta, 4 February 2002, Toronto; Eelamurasu, 30 January 2002, Toronto. 72 The Link, 15 November 2003, Surrey, BC. 73 Gnomi, December 2003, Vancouver.

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foreign credentials.74

Useful Programs

Provincial initiatives

In the time period examined for this special report, British Columbia was the first province to elicit positive reaction for its useful program: namely when then BC Multiculturalism Minister Sue Hammell initiated a credential recognition program for engineers in that province. Doctors, nurses and teachers were next in line, a report said. SUCCESS, the Chinese lobby and support group welcomed the move.75 It was only in late 2002 that SUCCESS representatives met with BC’s Advanced Education Minister Shirley Bond to discuss foreign credential recognition and ESL programs.76 However in April 2003, the College of Acupuncturists in BC announced that it was issuing licenses for the practice of this trade in that province. Four different types of acupuncturist permits were to be issued and College spokesman Mason Loh that the new licensing system was a landmark, and a first in North America.77 In BC too the Chamber of Commerce called for closer interaction between the private and public sector and a spokesman for the immigrant support network SUCCESS said the Chamber and his group would work together to train, evaluate, and hire newcomers with valid credentials.78

A few weeks later, Toronto’s diversity advocate Sherene Shaw announced the launch of a “mentor program” for foreign professionals as one of her priorities. But the announcement received no editorial support.79 On the contrary, editorials in Ontario’s largest non –English dailies urged the province to accelerate the evaluation process and the training of medical professionals in the province, as the health care system was evidently in need of more, not fewer, doctors.80 By October of that year, at least one daily newspaper had announced an Ontario initiative that had canvassed some 110

74 El Popular, 14 September 2002, Toronto; Zwiazkowiec, 19 September 2002, Toronto. 75 Ming Pao Daily News, 13 March 2001, Vancouver; Sing Tao Daily, 13 march 2001, Vancouver; World Journal 13 March 2001, Vancouver. 76 Sing Tao Daily News, 23 November 2002, Vancouver. 77 Ming Pao Daily News, 12 April 2002 Vancouver; Sing Tao Daily News, 12 April 2003, Vancouver; World Journal, 12 April 2003, Vancouver. 78 Ming Pao Daily News, 23 April 2003, Vancouver; Sing Tao Daily, 23 April 2003, Vancouver. World Journal, 23 April 2003, Vancouver. 79 The Weekly Gleaner, 11 April 2001, Toronto. 80 El Popular, 16 June 2001, Toronto; Korea Times Daily, 24 April 2002, Toronto; Korea Central Daily, 24 April 2002, Toronto.

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communities and found a lack of more than 1,000 doctors. The response of the Ontario government was to place foreign trained doctors in Ontario clinics for six months. If successful, the participants would then be able to re-educate themselves in two years; this program was one which the Council of Ontario Faculties of medicine welcomed.81 Still in Ontario when then health Minister Tony Clement announced that the government would legislate for acupuncture professionals in Ontario, the Chinese community registered its support.82 The first medical professionals who were to benefit from the Ontario initiatives were anesthesiologists and radiologists, who would receive exemption for certain exams, a report said.83 By February 2003, Mr. Clement was announcing that ten years hence, over 800 doctors with foreign training would be incorporated into the Ontario health system.84 Lawyers in Ontario received a similar program when the Law Society of Upper Canada permitted lawyers with Indian credentials to practice law, where the issue concerned Indian legal issues exclusively; Indian- credential lawyers remained prohibited from giving advice on Ontario or Canadian law. This development was credited with assisting Ontario’s position in international trade.85

By late 2002, then Ontario’s cabinet Minister for Training and Universities Diane Cunningham had extended the foreign credentials initiatives to engineers trained abroad: the “Pathway” program was announced, whereby engineers would receive six weeks of in-class training and English as a Foreign Language assistance. The program was seen as way to reduce barriers to employment.86 In mid- 2003, the Construction Recruitment External Worker Service (CREW) program, aimed at alleviating construction labor demand, permitted newcomers with a valid work permit and work experience in Canada to gain extra points for immigration purposes. This was a joint HRDC-Citizenship & Immigration- provincial initiative.87

Citing a Statistics Canada report showing that up to 60 percent of newcomers end up in Canada working in a field not related to their previous education, Toronto city officials also launched Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC), a project meant to connect directly immigrants with employers in the engineering, high technology and accounting fields: the program involved six months of internship and was meant to overcome language barriers in particular.88 The willingness

81 Korea Times Daily, 10 October 2001, Toronto. 82 Ming Pao, 3 January 2002, Toronto; Sing Tao, 3 January 2002, Toronto. 83 Korea Times Daily, 16 October 2002, Toronto; Korea Central Daily, 16 October 2002, Toronto. 84 Urdu Times, 20 February 2003, Toronto. 85 India Abroad, 12 April 2002, Etobicoke, ON. 86 Korea Times Daily, 21 November 2002, Toronto; The Somali Press, January 2003, Toronto. 87 El Mundo Latino News, 13 June 2003, Toronto. 88 Korea Central Daily, 11,12,15 September 2003, Toronto; The Korea Times Daily, 11 September 2001, Toronto. See the TRIEC website at www.triec.ca

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to continue joint-federal-provincial programs for immigrants’ settling and working in rural areas transcended politics: new Immigration affairs Minister for Ontario Marie Bountrogianni met her federal counterpart to seek better solutions in the medical sector.89

“Career Bridge” was another private sector initiative launched in 2003 where 21 potential Ontario employers provided internships to qualifying Canadian in professional and management positions.90 Echoing this trend, Ontario Economic Development and Trade Minister Joe Cordiano pledged that the province would soon involve minority groups in the “international activities” of the province, and to work harder to find employment for the highly skilled immigrants who were attracted to and those who actually arrived in Ontario.91 This pledge was matched when Training and Colleges Minister Anne Chambers announced $4 million to “remove hurdles for the professionally educated and trained individuals to provide them with jobs,” especially in the health care sector Ms. Chambers was quoted saying.92

In Quebec, a similar program was launched by then Minister for Immigration André Boulerice: an internet-based database was launched to facilitate the exchange of information about foreign-trained professionals, and to begin a recognition system for foreign credentials.93 The municipalities of the Laval also launched several French-speaking programs for immigrant women already settled in Canada, as well as office equipment and automation and tailoring workshops, to help match skills and positions in the province.94

Self-help

Members of Parliament remained one of the preferred method of seeking self-help from 2000 onwards: the Premkumars, a couple of highly qualified and experienced accountants from the United Kingdom now settled in Toronto soon sought assistance from their MPs when after arriving in Canada on self-sponsorship program they were unable to secure employment in their field.95 An opinion piece in a popular Tamil monthly review explained how most professionals managed to secure employment at least related to their previous credentials: veterinary surgeons worked as lab technicians, civil engineers were employed as real estate agents, and some chemical analysts managed

89 Urdu Times, 20 November 203, Toronto. 90 Share, 25 September 2003, Toronto. 91 Corriere Canadese, 23, 29 December 2003, Toronto./ 92 Pakeeza, 10 February 2004. 93 El Mensajero, 15 January 2003, Gatineau, QC. 94 Corriere Italiano, 31 January 2001, Montreal. 95 Uthayan, 15 December 200, Toronto

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pharmaceutical production lines. In this light, the commentator cited courage and resilience as key values for vocational adaptation in Canada.96

Similarly, the Canada-China Medical Professional Association said active lobbying was one of its key initiatives to get the authorities to recognize foreign medical credentials, and Ontario cabinet members were on hand to congratulate these and other Chinese lobbyists who celebrated a lobbying anniversary for credential promotion97 -- two self-help efforts that eventually contributed to recognition for acupuncture specialists, as we saw above.98 For that matter, SUCCESS was consistently seen as an influential force for immigrants in BC with no less than six career centers in Vancouver working with professional societies to launch up to eight summer training programs per year.99 In addition, when SUCCESS held its 14th Career and Recruitment fair, Members of Parliament and representatives from all three levels of government attended despite pouring rain, with total attendance of over 2,000 people.100

Language, race and profession were all unifying forces in self-help initiatives. In Toronto, for example, the Canadian Colombian Professional Association started to offer its own services to Spanish-speaking population in an effort to have foreign credentials recognized and locating employment relevant to training.101 In Manitoba, professionals teamed together to hire a lawyer who submitted a report to Manitoba Labor Minister Becky Barrett to look into Filipino and other foreign credentials in the fields of dentistry, health and agriculture.102 In Quebec, the Vietnamese community worked directly with the high-technology private sector players like Nortel and government to promote the interests of its university graduates, ensuring that they were re-employed following training and summer jobs.103 Another key private sector player that immigrants sought help from was Global Network Associates (GNA)104 an immigration consultancy firm which, through its annual immigration plan claims to grant some third of a million immigrants permanent visas to different

96 Thamilar Thahaval, February 2002, Toronto. 97 Sing Tao 6 July 2002, Toronto. 98 Ming Pao Daily News, 9 June 2002, Vancouver; Sing Tao Daily, 9 June 2002, Vancouver; World Journal, 9 June 2002, Vancouver. 99 Sing Tao Daily, 13 February 2003, Vancouver. 100 Ming Pao Daily News, 17 October 2003, Vancouver. 101 El Mundo Latino News, 10 January 2002, Toronto. 102 The Filipino Journal, 31 March 2003, Winnipeg. 103 Thoi Bao, 9 March 2001, Montreal. 104 See their website at http://www.globalnetworkassociates.com/

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countries, including Canada.105 The visas are issued to qualified, skilled workers only, and GNA’s program functions on a point system akin to Canada’s.

In Manitoba and Quebec, minorities united, met and drafted action programs to seek more appointments for their members in the federal public service and in the private sector. 106 Likewise in Ontario: for example, the Carpenters Committee sought to formalize the status of so-called illegal workers, given the extreme shortage of construction labor, advocating that these workers be called unregistered laborers as opposed to illegal residents.107 But regardless of the zeal with which some communities helped themselves, they still needed active advocates to carry their message to decision- makers.

Advocates’ initiatives

International agreements and initiatives trickled down to individual advocacy in at least one example: York University professor Orest Subtelny was appointed director of a new program between Canada and Ukraine to assist in the training of policy analysts in trade and development, the program had a $ 2 million budget and was to assist Ukrainians obtain training while in Canada. In other international advocacy development, Filipino Consul General Susan O. Castrence in Toronto announced a joint HRDC-Philippines initiative where foreign-trained professionals, from engineers to pharmacists, would be receiving services in the Etobicoke area to find work.108 A similar Toronto-area initiative involved a Catholic community services outreach group, and the Filipino Consulate, co-funded by Citizenship & Immigration, the Philippines Overseas Labor Office worked in Canada to ensure that there would a be “relaxation” of Canada’s policy on hiring foreign-trained health workers, nurses in particular.109

In BC, SUCCESS, the foremost immigrant advocacy group, was critical of federal cuts in funding, citing a 15 percent reduction in related programs, when career training initiatives and recognition of foreign credentials were at their peak demand for improvement.110 Nonetheless, the Immigration Minister himself was seen as an advocate for trained laborers already in Canada, when a program making it easier for corporations to hire workers through the Spouse Employment Allowance was

105 El Popular, 28 November 2003, Toronto. 106 Filipino Journal, 30 May 2002, Winnipeg; Al-Moustakbal, 12 June 2002, Montreal. 107 The Korea Central Daily, 12 August 2003. 108 Balita, 15 January 2003, Toronto. 109 Filipiniani News, August 2002, Toronto; The Philippine Reporter, 15 January 2004, Toronto. 110 World Journal, 01 November 2001, Vancouver.

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introduced in late 2001.111

Likewise, then Industry Minister Allan Rock argued for the speedy recognition of foreign credentials as an essential condition for Canada’s economic goals.112 Senator Mobina Jaffer highlighted key points in the Throne Speech, including a federal commitment to make more training available in both languages for children of immigrant families.113 The Romanow Commission was praised for arguing that there was an urgent necessity to streamline the process for recognizing foreign-trained health professionals.114

Then Immigration Minister Denis Coderre announced that all skilled workers already in Canada as well as business immigration applicants who applied before 1 January 2002 would be assessed under the former Act which set the acceptance mark at 70, instead of the new 75, which was seen as a concession to those already at least partly settled here.115 The Prime Minister himself, before taking his current position, was favorably cited in Vancouver as promoting the interests of immigrants holding foreign credentials in Canada, telling media that more information should be provided to newcomers before they arrive in Canada, and that technical and training programs should be offered to immigrants, comments which were welcomed by BC’s SUCCESS advocates.116 By the time Mr. Martin had become Prime Minister, his cabinet was making similar headlines: Immigration Minister Judy Sgro was quoted saying that it “was imperative that Canada find a more efficient way to take advantage of skilled immigrants, and …better consider foreign credentials in academic and scientific fields.”117

In Ontario, then Health Minister Tony Clement’s program to put 650 foreign-trained doctors on the track to work was criticized as a fast tack to nowhere by health critic Shelley Martel who said in Manitoba, doctors were obtaining licenses in three days.118 When a new tribunal for Ontario Workplaces was launched in mid-2001, lawyer Wu Yaoyao criticized the initiatives as a breach of workers rights, and argued that the Ontario government was not sincere in hearing public

111 Korea Times Daily, 4 December 2001, Toronto. 112 The Indo-Canadian Voice, 23 February 2002, Surrey, BC. 113 The Indo-Canadian Voice, 16 November 2002, Surrey, BC. 114 Share, 5 December 2002, Toronto. 115 The Filipino Journal, 30 September 2003, Winnipeg. 116 World Journal, 14 May 2003, Vancouver; The Korea Central Daily, 4 February 2003, Toronto. 117 Corriere Canadese, 21 February 2004, Toronto. 118 Patrides, December 2002, Toronto, H.-C. Chronicles, 26 December 2002, Toronto; The Spectrum, 15 December 2002, Ottawa.

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views on workers rights since the window for dialogue was far too short.119

Conclusion & Recommendations: What Remains To Be Done

This report has summarized the three trends that have marked ethnic media coverage of foreign credential recognition. Bureaucratic, language and work experience were frequently cited. But useful initiatives by the federal government and at least four of the provinces were also mentioned. All levels of government, municipal, provincial and federal were able to work together to develop initiatives. But many commentators noted that the federal government was responsible for promoting Canada in one light abroad to lure immigrants here, while being seemingly unable to ensure gratifying employment in the provinces. The problem of the legal division of jurisdictions between immigration and licensing has been overcome successfully by the British Columbia government decision to issue licenses and permit the trade of acupuncturists in that province, a policy decision that was soon followed – if not implemented – in Ontario. Given this state of affairs, while governments at all levels seem to be actively involved and clearly concerned about foreign credential recognition and employment of newcomers in Canada, there appears to be an information gap between policy-makers and the personnel on the ground able to implement the policy. The best example of this ineffectiveness was that the Canadian Information Center for International Credentials (CICIC) was not visible in the ethnic media monitored here in 2002 or 2004.

The analysis of the current situation and experiences related in this report suggest that the problem, while serious, is not insurmountable. A three-prong attack that is likely to succeed can be identified. Firstly, given the doctrine of federal paramount law, where federal acts trump provincial statutes, the federal government must take the initiative to set up a permanent board for immigrant credential validation. This board must be preceded by an information clearing house and credentials database, similar to CICIC, but geared towards immigrants, and offered in their language, complete with a website in their language to be readily available and accessible free of charge. The database would match newcomers to state of origins, and within each state, institutions would be organized to match trades and professions. The board, accessing the database, would then make rulings on individual or group cases. Thus, at least a validation of credentials would occur at this initial stage. Secondly, regularly-scheduled and fully-advertised training seminars, workshops and presentations to be developed and delivered across the country, again, in the newcomers’ languages, and often by newcomers themselves, setting out the basics that newcomers need to know upon their arrivals. These are the fundamental from-resume-to-employment tools: for example, how to perform a credit check and keep credit ratings updated; how to draft a convincing employment letter; understanding the impact of criminal records and pardons on job applications; applying for lines of credit, and, of course, language training. Third, an annual or semi-annual national conference involving the three levels of government, private sector stakeholders, the ethnic media and key employers must occur to match newcomers with employers, and to fill the information gap between the levels of

119 Ming Pao 13 April 2001, Toronto.

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With such an approach implemented, the immigrant foreign credentials problems highlighted in this report can be overcome. Once launched by the federal and provincial governments it would be quickly and energetically implemented and monitored by the newcomers themselves, since they have amply demonstrated their willingness to work and integrate in Canadian society.

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