Hon. Mobina S.B. Jaffer: Honourable senators, in the November 2008 Speech from the Throne, the government promised to break down barriers that prevent Canadians from reaching their potential, regardless of culture, background, gender, age, disability or official language. Within this theme, the government promised to make the recognition of foreign credentials a priority.
My question is to the Leader of the Government in the Senate: Is this still one of the government priorities? What has been done so far?
Hon. Marjory LeBreton (Leader of the Government and Minister of State (Seniors)): I thank Senator Jaffer for the question. Indeed, the government has made the recognition of foreign credentials one of its priorities. The Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, has done a considerable amount of work in this area in cooperation with his provincial and territorial counterparts. I would be happy to provide Senator Jaffer with a more detailed written response.
Senator Jaffer: I appreciate the leader's gesture to provide further information. I ask that this information include how the government arrived at the amount of $50 million for the program and how much has been spent to date. It is important in these difficult economic times to ensure that people who are not fully integrated into our workforce have the assistance they require.
Senator LeBreton: I thank Senator Jaffer for the additional question. I would be happy to make inquiries about the actual amounts committed and spent.
Delayed Answer to Question Provided on April 21, 2009:
Response to question raised by Hon. Mobina S. B. Jaffer on January 29, 2009)
a) Insofar as Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is concerned, foreign credential recognition remains a high priority for the government. As stated in the Speech from the Throne in November, the federal government will work closely with the provinces and the territories to speed up the foreign credential recognition process. Foreign credential recognition was a topic of discussion at the First Ministers' Meeting on January 16, 2009. Provincial/territorial and federal labour market ministries committed to developing a Pan-Canadian framework for foreign credential recognition and an implementation plan by September 30, 2009.
Since its creation in May 2007, the Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO), in partnership with Service Canada, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), Health Canada and other partners, has made steady progress on its mandate to provide information, path-finding and referral services to foreign-trained individuals in Canada and overseas through a dedicated Web site, phone and in-person services, as well as services overseas. Results to date include:
- From May 2007 to November 2008, in-person services have been provided to over 39,000 clients seeking FCRO-related information across Canada (330 Service Canada Centres and 216 outreach sites). Telephone services have been provided to 3,700 callers nationwide (Service Canada call centre).
- FCRO Web site (www.credentials.gc.ca), which includes the Working in Canada tool, has received over 550,000 visits, the majority originating overseas.
- Overseas services are currently being provided through a pilot project funded by HRSDC and led by the Association of Canadian Community Colleges in China, India and the Philippines. Service in these three locations has been in place since the fall of 2007 and covers 47 per cent of the global pool of approved Federal Skilled Workers and 53 per cent of Provincial Nominees.
b) Budget 2009 recognized the efforts of the FCRO and the Foreign Credential Recognition Program (FCRP) towards addressing barriers to foreign credential recognition in Canada and has provided $50M to support the work of designing and implementing a common framework.
The decision-making process by which the Government came to allocate the sum of $50 million to foreign credential recognition is protected by Cabinet confidence. However, we can confirm that for several years, the Government of Canada has made investments towards fostering national approaches to the recognition of foreign credentials. The FCRO at CIC and the FCRP at HRSDC and the Internationally Educated Health Professionals Initiative at Health Canada are the main initiatives that can be used to attain federal objectives.
- The Foreign Credentials Referral provides information, path-finding and referral services to internationally trained individuals in Canada and overseas.
- The Foreign Credential Recognition Program funds initiatives that will improve assessment and recognition processes.
- The Internationally Educated Health Professionals Initiative develops and implements programs that build capacity and promote a consistent approach to integrating internationally educated health professionals into the Canadian labour market.
- After careful examination of results to date, the Government has committed a further $50M over two years as an additional contribution towards supporting the development and implementation of a national foreign credential recognition framework.
- At the request of Central Agencies, the FCRO at CIC and the FCRP at HRSDC have prepared the appropriate documentation to access the funds announced in Budget 2009. The FCRO and the FCRP have not received funding for this initiative yet and as such, it is premature to discuss progress to-date. However, both departments have participated in a federal, provincial, territorial meeting in February 2009 to develop a critical path to achieve the goal stated in Budget 2009. This initial step is key in establishing trust, partnership and momentum to deliver on national foreign credential recognition framework.