OTTAWA – New Democrat pressure has forced the Conservative government to act on foreign credential recognition, but their initiative is not comprehensive enough and will come too late, only starting to take effect in December 2011, says New Democrat Citizenship and Immigration Critic Olivia Chow.

“The Liberals never got it done, and the Conservatives are taking way too long to bring fairness to new immigrants,” says Chow. “I urge the government to speed up the process of recognizing foreign credentials. The majority of the professionals won’t see concrete results until December 2013. That is a long time to wait.”

New Democrats proposed a comprehensive foreign credential reform plan in January, 2007 and have been calling for its implementation ever since. The New Democrats’ seven point plan includes coordinating with various professional bodies and provincial accreditation offices to ensure a uniform and expedited recognition process throughout the country. It also calls for the establishment of reciprocity agreements so immigrants who arrive in Canada are ready to work immediately.

Other New Democrat recommendations include the creation of an agency with an internet portal and a toll free line for potential immigrants to access information on assessment criteria, education and licensing bodies and recognition processes. This information and pre-assessment would be made available at orientation sessions in international visa offices to allow potential immigrants to be assessed and accredited prior to their arrival to Canada. See details. [5]

The New Democrat proposal is based on years of consultation and work with immigrant-serving agencies and new Canadians.