08-24-2006, 02:48 PM
Found this article in our local paper -
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Points system needs overhaul, Ontario immigration minister says FRANK ETHERINGTON
WATERLOO REGION (Aug 24, 2006)
The "farcical, ridiculous" points system that determines who can immigrate to Canada is broken and needs fixing, Ontario Immigration Minister Mike Colle charged yesterday.
Colle was in Kitchener explaining a provincial bill that would stop the "brain waste" that keeps educated, skilled immigrants from finding more than survival jobs such as driving cabs or cleaning washrooms.
Ontario needs truck drivers, stonemasons and technicians but has ended up with 50,000 highly educated engineers it can't absorb, "with another 10,000 on the way," Colle said.
The federal points system doesn't reflect the job reality, he said.
Among other things, the system grants points to prospective immigrants for language ability, level of education and other attributes.
Colle was answering questions raised by some of the 100 or so people who attended an information session on the proposed Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act.
Several people said Waterloo Region continues to attract immigrants with skills that do not match job openings. With its high level of employment, Colle said, this region will be a magnet for immigrants for years to come.
Because of that, it stands to gain significantly from the act, which would make it easier for immigrant professionals to find jobs that match their skills and university degrees.
Colle said the act would also help solve a worsening problem for local employers grappling with what has been described by the Waterloo Region Immigrant Employment Network as a chronic shortage of skilled workers.
Canada has a zero birth rate and is heading for a huge labour shortage as its workforce ages.
The Ontario legislation would require the province's 34 regulated professions to face scrutiny by a new fairness commissioner. The commissioner would make regulatory bodies accountable for how they treat immigrants and ensure their admission procedures are clear, open and fair to all.
Groups that don't comply -- and Colle said some don't like the prospect of government control -- could face court-imposed fines of up to $100,000.
Colle said the professional bodies have to stop acting as protective gatekeepers. He said the proposed act, tabled June 8, is designed to establish a fairer system but is not intended to lower standards.
The legislation was drafted to clear a path for many of the thousands of foreign-trained doctors, accountants, engineers and other professionals who arrive in Ontario each year and are frustrated by the red tape they face getting work in their fields. More than half have university degrees and 10 per cent have experience in a regulated profession or trade.
The session was organized by the immigration network and the Kitchener-based Multicultural Centre. Peter McFadden is the new director of the network while Ruth Odia, an immigrant from Kenya, is the network's new manager. McFadden said the network is bringing together local employers and agencies representing immigrants to take action on the increasing shortage of skilled employees.
"For some larger employers, that shortage is already chronic . . . while some small and medium employers have yet to see the shortage." He said research shows the region's population is expected to exceed 700,000 by 2031 and, by 2011, virtually all the labour market growth will come from immigrants.
_______________________________
Points system needs overhaul, Ontario immigration minister says FRANK ETHERINGTON
WATERLOO REGION (Aug 24, 2006)
The "farcical, ridiculous" points system that determines who can immigrate to Canada is broken and needs fixing, Ontario Immigration Minister Mike Colle charged yesterday.
Colle was in Kitchener explaining a provincial bill that would stop the "brain waste" that keeps educated, skilled immigrants from finding more than survival jobs such as driving cabs or cleaning washrooms.
Ontario needs truck drivers, stonemasons and technicians but has ended up with 50,000 highly educated engineers it can't absorb, "with another 10,000 on the way," Colle said.
The federal points system doesn't reflect the job reality, he said.
Among other things, the system grants points to prospective immigrants for language ability, level of education and other attributes.
Colle was answering questions raised by some of the 100 or so people who attended an information session on the proposed Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act.
Several people said Waterloo Region continues to attract immigrants with skills that do not match job openings. With its high level of employment, Colle said, this region will be a magnet for immigrants for years to come.
Because of that, it stands to gain significantly from the act, which would make it easier for immigrant professionals to find jobs that match their skills and university degrees.
Colle said the act would also help solve a worsening problem for local employers grappling with what has been described by the Waterloo Region Immigrant Employment Network as a chronic shortage of skilled workers.
Canada has a zero birth rate and is heading for a huge labour shortage as its workforce ages.
The Ontario legislation would require the province's 34 regulated professions to face scrutiny by a new fairness commissioner. The commissioner would make regulatory bodies accountable for how they treat immigrants and ensure their admission procedures are clear, open and fair to all.
Groups that don't comply -- and Colle said some don't like the prospect of government control -- could face court-imposed fines of up to $100,000.
Colle said the professional bodies have to stop acting as protective gatekeepers. He said the proposed act, tabled June 8, is designed to establish a fairer system but is not intended to lower standards.
The legislation was drafted to clear a path for many of the thousands of foreign-trained doctors, accountants, engineers and other professionals who arrive in Ontario each year and are frustrated by the red tape they face getting work in their fields. More than half have university degrees and 10 per cent have experience in a regulated profession or trade.
The session was organized by the immigration network and the Kitchener-based Multicultural Centre. Peter McFadden is the new director of the network while Ruth Odia, an immigrant from Kenya, is the network's new manager. McFadden said the network is bringing together local employers and agencies representing immigrants to take action on the increasing shortage of skilled employees.
"For some larger employers, that shortage is already chronic . . . while some small and medium employers have yet to see the shortage." He said research shows the region's population is expected to exceed 700,000 by 2031 and, by 2011, virtually all the labour market growth will come from immigrants.