OTTAWA – Three years have passed since New Democrats presented a comprehensive plan for improving the recognition of foreign credentials but the Harper Conservatives are still announcing half measures.

“We welcome Minister Kenney’s announcement today but it is only a small step in the right direction,” said New Democrat Citizenship and Immigration Critic Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina). "More than one in four immigrants arriving in Canada will not benefit.

“Canada’s continued failure to recognize the credentials of qualified, skilled and professional foreign-trained immigrants not only hurts new Canadians themselves but our economy as well.”

The New Democrats’ plan includes coordinating with 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.

In a press conference today, Chow underscored a number of initiatives that could be implemented quickly and provide benefits almost immediately. Her recommendations include:

• expanding mentorship, bridging and internship programs to assist new immigrants;
• providing job opportunities in the federal government;
• creating a financial support loan program to help immigrants access retraining, upgrade and language courses; and
• speeding up the process of recognizing foreign credentials. (Under the current Conservative plan, the majority of the professionals won’t see concrete results until December 2013.)

“For too long the Minister has been talking a lot about helping skilled foreign-trained immigrants transition into the Canadian economy,” said Chow. "It's time to get the whole job done.”