facilitating immigrant access to professional employment: provincial government ......

Facilitating Immigrant Access to Professional Employment: Provincial Promising Practices

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A Background Document

October 2008 Prepared for:

Funded by


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Prepared By

The Centre for Community Based Research is committed to social change and the development of communities and human services that are responsive and supportive, especially for people with limited access to power and opportunity. Demonstrating leadership through research, education and community involvement, the Centre stimulates the creation of awareness, policies, and practices that advance equitable participation and integration of all members of the community

CCBR's experienced multi-disciplinary team facilitates groups to find the right solutions using: evaluation, applied research, training, proposal development, facilitation and planning and community mobilization.

CCBR is committed to providing value-based services that extend beyond simple results; we impact positive change through our activities. Integrity, expertise and commitment to quality have earned us a reputation as an innovator and a leader in community based research.

73 King Street West, Suite 300 Kitchener, Ontario N2G 1A7

Phone: (519) 741-1318 Fax: (519) 741-8262 E-mail: [email protected]

www.communitybasedresearch.ca


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Table of Contents

I- INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................... 4 II-PROMISING PRACTICES ............................................................................................ 7 III- BRITISH COLUMBIA CONTEXT: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES..... 29 IV- STRATEGIES FOR THE BCITP NET ..................................................................... 32 V- CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................... 35

APPENDICES


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I- INTRODUCTION The British Columbia Internationally Trained Professionals Network (BCITP Net) is a partnership of internationally trained professionals from around the province, working cooperatively, to improve access to meaningful employment for all immigrant professionals in the province. The purpose of BCITP Net is to help build associations and networks among internationally trained professionals1. To further advance its mandate of immigrant employment, the BCITP Net contracted the Centre for Community Based Research (CCBR)2 to conduct a research on ‘promising practices’ by provincial governments across Canada which had facilitated immigrant access to professional employment. Purpose of Research The main purpose of the research was to identify ‘promising practices’ by provincial governments in Canada (excluding British Columbia) that had facilitated greater access to professional employment by immigrant professionals. The findings of the research would be used by the BCITP Net to inform policy development and advocacy within British Columbia. Scope of the Research In identifying the promising practices, the scope of the research was to:

• Consider both regulated and non-regulated professions • Consider a range of government activity including: legislation,

training/workshops, matching (e.g., host, mentoring, internships), internal human resources (placements and internships in government), credential/prior learning assessment, funding (resourcing others to carry out any of the other categories).

• Consider post-arrival government activities only. • Focus primarily on provincial government activities, but also consider

municipal government and crown corporations if applicable. • Focus on those provinces most likely to have promising practices in

English-speaking Canada (i.e., Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia). • Focus only on those government practices that are deemed most

promising (i.e., not a comprehensive scan) Main Research Questions The research tried to answer the following three main questions:

1. What are the promising practices in other jurisdictions that has facilitated (or has the potential to facilitate) immigrant professionals to access employment?

1 For more information visit http://www.bcitp.net 2 www.communitybasedresearch.ca


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2. To what extent are these best practices transferable to the British Columbia context?

3. What are the 5-8 main promising practices that BCITP Net should focus on in their advocacy efforts?

Research Methodology To answer these questions the research used the following methods under the direction of the BCITP Net steering committee:

Document/Literature Review: Relevant literature and documents were reviewed to identify the promising practices. Some of the document sources included the Capacity Canada Environmental Scan, MCI pre-arrival report, MayTree Foundation online library, TRIEC website, and websites of different government ministries (especially CIC, HRSDC). National Key Informant Interviews: In the first phase, four telephone interviews were conducted with national key informants representing federal government and national NGOs. The purpose of these interviews was to flag potential promising practices for further exploration. Informants also provided initial critical analysis of the perceived effectiveness of these initiatives. Provincial Key Informant Interviews: Eight telephone interviews were conducted with provincial key informants—individuals knowledgeable of existing provincial government initiatives. These informants provided detailed information about the identified promising practices and the challenges such initiatives may have in their implementation in the British Columbia context. BC Key Informant Interviews: In the final phase six interviews were conducted with the British Columbia key informants. These were individuals knowledgeable of the British Columbia political context and provided a critical comparative analysis of the extent to which these five practices were transferable to British Columbia jurisdiction.

The key informants were purposively selected keeping in view their knowledge and/or involvement of multiple jurisdictions and their potential awareness of multiple promising practices in the field. An attempt was made for key informants to be representative of both the governments as well as non-public sectors (e.g. NOGs). Promising Practice Criteria The following criteria was used to identify what constituted promising practice. This criteria was identified and refined by the Steering Committee and the National Key Informants.

Stakeholder Participation: Participation of different stakeholders (e.g. government, employers, immigrants, service providers etc) and support of and acceptance by immigrants.


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Inclusive: Addressing the needs of diverse immigrant population (e.g. gender equality, regional mix, cross professions and trades, etc). Portability/Replicability: Potential for application of the program model to other settings. Program has been implemented in several other settings. Sustainability: Program can be self-sustaining beyond the initial pilot project with no significant barriers. Outcome/Success: Results are positive with evidence showing improvement in immigrant employment (e.g. self-reports of stakeholders, independent quantitative/qualitative evaluative research).

Limitations of the Research There are two main limitations to this research study. First, the research was limited in the number of promising practices it reviewed and analyzed. It should not be seen as a ‘comprehensive’ scan but an attempt to highlight a small number of practices self-identified by key informants. Second, the research depended solely on the perception of the key informants in explaining the effectiveness of the promising practices. While key informants may be well informed, it should be noted that the degree to which the identified practices are ‘promising’ have not been verified by any independent, formal evaluation or assessment. The research, in fact identifies an important gap in that formal evaluation reviews are rare in the field of immigrant employment. While the conclusions or recommendations shed valuable light on the general direction that BCITP Net may be taking, these two limitations must be considered as they translate the research findings into political advocacy. For this reason, the report is to be considered as an internal background document to stimulate further BCIPT Net discussion. Structure of the Report The report is divided into four more sections. Section II highlights the five identified promising practices by providing a brief description of each practice, with a web link for more information. A critical analysis of these practices is also presented in terms of the promising practices criteria as well its portability or implementation potential in the British Columbia context. Section III summarizes existing challenges and opportunities to policy development in the British Columbia related to access to professions for immigrants. Section IV provides different strategies that BCITP Net could take to advance its mandate. Finally, section V concludes the main findings of the report.


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II-PROMISING PRACTICES A total of seven (7) provincial government promising practices were identified by key informants. These practices were further discussed during the steering committee who decided to focus on the five practices that were most appropriate to the British Columbia context. This section describes the five identified promising practices and provides basic information about them. This description is followed by critical reflections for each practice based on the key informant perspectives. The five promising practices include:

• Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, 2006 (Bill 124)/Office of the Fairness Access Commissioner

• Ontario Public Service (OPS) Internship Program for Internationally

Trained Professionals

• Government of Ontario’s Funding for Bridge Training Programs

• Multi-stakeholder Work Groups for Regulated Occupations in Nova Scotia

• Ontario Tri-Government Partnership (The Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement)


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An Act to provide for fair registration practices in Ontario’s regulated professions

Category Legislation

Purpose To help ensure that regulated profession and individuals applying for registration by

regulated professions are governed by registration practices that are transparent, objective, impartial and fair.

Ministry/Department Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration

What is the Office of the Fairness Commissioner

One of the important parts of the Bill 124 requires establishing an Office of the Fairness Commissioner for its implementation. The Office requires the professional regulatory bodies to review their registration practices, submit reports about them and undergo audits to make sure they are meeting their obligations under the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, 2006 and the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, as amended.

Specifically, the responsibilities of the office are to:

• Provide advice to the regulated professions about registration and other issues • Set out guidelines for the content and form of the regulatory bodies' yearly

reports to the office • Consult with regulated professions about the scope, timing and cost of audits • Specify criteria and standards for audits • Receive audits • Look into systemic problems with registration practices • Issue compliance orders to the non-health professions, if necessary • Report to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration about its work • Advise other government ministries about issues relating to the registration

practices of the regulated professions in their domains

The Office of the Fairness Commissioner has no mandate to advocate or intervene on behalf of individuals or to assess credentials. It works with the regulated professions to make sure everyone gets fair treatment.

Some other important parts of the Act include Fair Registration Practices Code, Access Centre for Internationally Trained Individuals, Reports and Compliance Orders and Appeals.

For More Information A copy of bill 124 can be found at: http://www.ontla.on.ca/bills/bills-files/38_Parliament/Session2/b124ra.pdf The detailed information about the mandate, activities of the office of the fairness commissioner are available at their website: http://www.fairnesscommissioner.ca/en The PROMPT/CCBR advocacy paper “In the Public Interest” calling for regulatory changes found in Bill 124 can be found at: http://www.promptinfo.ca/Library/Docs/In%20the%20Public%20Interest%20Full.pdf

Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, 2006 (Bil l 124)/Office of the Fairness Access Commissioner


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Critical Reflections

Bill 124 is an excellent example of a decision that is taken by a province to look at the regulation and access to recognition and qualification. (Key Informant)

Most key informants saw Bill 124 as one of the promising practices that provincial governments can adopt to facilitate immigrant access to professional employment, especially in the regulated professions. To them the legislation has helped hold the regulatory bodies more accountable for their practices thus facilitating the access to information for trained professionals.

The kind of legislative response to the regulatory bodies in terms of finally holding them accountable to the public and to the government for the registration practices and for making the registration practices fair, transparent, accessible, is incredibly significant. (Key Informant)

The Bill 124 was found to be promising on many accounts. First, the process of legislation itself was considered to have created awareness about the issue of access to regulated professions. The development of the Bill also served to unify the diverse stakeholders (i.e. trained professionals, regulatory bodies and the government) within the province.

One of the positive outcomes actually was how united people in Ontario were about passing this legislation. I think it did sensitize people and it did provoke conversations and it was interesting to see the degree of positive support for it. (Key Informant)

The Bill was also thought to have the potential of replicability in other jurisdictions. In fact one of the provinces, Manitoba, has already passed a similar legislation to ensure fair access to regulated professions for the trained professionals. In Nova Scotia, the conversations are under way to pass legislation along the lines of Bill 124.

The province of Manitoba has passed legislation like ours [Ontario]. But it doesn’t go as far as our does. It doesn’t require an audit for instance. But they will have a fairness commissioner as well, though they haven’t appointed anyone yet. (Key Informant)

There is a legislation currently being considered by our province [Nova Scotia] to enact fair access to regulated professions, it's not passed but it's under consideration.

Key informants also mentioned some of the positive outcomes that this Act has already started producing. For example, some key informants perceived that


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regulatory bodies have begun to critically reflect on their practices in ways not previously done.

One of the great things we are doing that regulatory bodies themselves are learning about their practices and how they can be improved, looking at them in a very analytical way. They believe they are transparent and impartial, but at the same time they are identifying things they realize they can improve. (Key Informant)

I also know that regulators are working with people and try to look at their processes for some of the regulators they never thought they needed to look at this before. (Key Informant)

More concretely for internationally educated professionals, a few key informants identified that because of this legislation, information was now more readily available to applicants than before.

I think there are some good things happening. Just providing the information more clearly to the applicants, making sure fees are posted and readily available to people so they understand what the fees are.

We have had some positive outcomes in terms of Global Experience Ontario which is established as part of the legislation so it’s starting to provide useful services to clients.

It should be noted that the legislation addresses the key issues of transparency and accountability to ensure fair access to regulated professions. Key informants were particularly appreciative of the reporting requirement aspect of this legislation.

I think some of the issues that it addresses in terms of transparency and accountability, they are all important issues. (Key Informant) So this reporting is really important, where people know what is expected of them, they know there is a process, they know they will get an answer and if it is in negative they should know why it is so and what they need to do to address this. (Key Informant)

However, there was one caveat to the positive assessment of this promising practice. This caveat related to the lack of evidence of tangible and verifiable positive outcomes that this legislation has produced. In addition Bill 124 was considered to bring system level, long term changes in the way the regulatory bodies operate making it difficult to track outcomes in the short-term. It was pointed out by some key informants that more time was needed before this legislation could be described as a promising practice.


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We may not see that tangible changes so far because we have been here for only a year. This is a systematic change initiative where things don’t happen overnight. (Key Informant)

How effective it is and what impact is going to be, for that I don’t think we are going to know that for couple of years. I think for systemic changes it takes time. But I think the legislation was very strong. (Key Informant)

This is a good idea. We don’t know as the reports haven’t come out yet. You have to watch and observe. (Key Informant)

It’s one of those wait and see situation. We would like to see where Ontario after, say, one year of implementation. We are just waiting to see their outcome report. (Key Informant)

Key informants were divided on the issue of the replicability of Bill 124 in the province of British Columbia. Some key informants noted that Bill 124 had the potential to be replicable in other jurisdictions including British Columbia. They also suggested that to formulate any such legislation it would be very important to engage different stakeholders, especially the regulatory bodies and immigrant serving agencies (which work directly with the internationally trained professionals) early on.

I think it’s [the Bill] a necessity and should be right across Canada. I know regulatory bodies fall under provincial jurisdiction, but it should be right across Canada. (Key Informant)

A few key informants had concerns about advocating to the British Columbia government to adopt this legislation. At least caution should be taken as to how to frame any such advocacy.

I think one of the worse things you would ever do with this government is to say that Bill 124 is great in Ontario and we have to have one in BC. BC government will throw this in the garbage quickly because they don’t adopt things from Ontario. (Key Informant)

Personally, I think Bill 124 is a great idea, but if BC government had any interest in doing they would have already done it. So I would ignore it totally. (Key Informant)

There is nothing worse than recommending to the BC government that they should adopt something from Ontario. (Key Informant)

Many key informants, however, thought that BCITP Net could identify some of the key ideas or messages from the legislation and then recommend those ideas to the British Columbia government for further consideration.


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It would be good to identify some ideas [from the legislation] and then propose to the [BC] government as a recommendation. (Key Informant)

I think there are definitely aspects of it [Bill 124] that are applicable to potential implementation to BC. (Key Informant)

Conclusion Overall the key informants found Bill 124 a promising practice, albeit with few positive outcomes verified so far (“an untested good idea”, was how one key informant described it). The key informants were divided on recommending this idea to the British Columbia government given that the lack of evidence of outcomes and given the hesitancy of BC parachuting in legislation made in Ontario. However, generally the research participants found that certain aspects of the legislation, particularly the reporting requirements, could be used by BCITP Net for its advocacy purposes.

I think the reporting requirement is probably the most important aspect of this legislation. If you could simply have an annual report every year from each regulator that talks about the number of people assessed (their demographic information), what were the outcomes and an explanation as to why did not the applicant succeed. This would certainly help in making the regulatory bodies’ practices more fair and transparent. (Key Informant)


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Providing an opportunity for newcomers to gain public service experience.

Category Matching (Internship)

Purpose To provide internationally trained professionals with an opportunity to combine

their knowledge acquired in jurisdictions around the world with Canadian experience.

Ministry/Department Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration (MCI), Ontario

What is the OSP Internship Program

Starting in the fall of 2006, newcomers with a minimum of three years of international work experience became eligible for a placement of up to six months within the Ontario Public Service. MCI partnered with Career Edge, a not-for-profit organizations, through their Career Bridge Program to create the OPS Internship for internationally trained individuals as a pilot program. The program provides valuable initial Canadian experience for up to 75 newcomers to Ontario each year, through six-month paid internships in ministries, agencies and commissions (ABCs) across the OPS. To date, 176 internationally trained individuals have been provided with six-month paid work experience as interns within 22 Ontario ministries and OPS agencies and commissions across the province.

Currently, the program is delivered within the OPS centrally through Global Experience Ontario (GEO), one of the units of the Immigration Branch of the MCI. http://www.ontarioimmigration.ca/english/geo.asp

In 2007-08, the program expanded beyond the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and Hamilton to other locations including: Guelph, St. Catharines, London, Peterborough, Kingston, Ottawa, Sault Ste Marie, Thunder Bay and Atikokan.

OPS ministries and ABCs participate in the program by submitting proposals to MCI-GEO describing their potential placements and the learning opportunities involved. These proposals are vetted for employee relations considerations, geographic location, and the value of the experience for the interns. Approved program proposals are then posted on the Career Bridge website. Workshops for hiring managers, coordinators/mentors from ministries/host organizations are provided by Career Edge. Hiring managers are encouraged to carry out interviews in a way that mirrors the OPS hiring process.

To establish this first-ever provincial internship program for the internationally trained, the Ontario government works with Career Bridge to place up to 75 interns in a wide variety of fields including finance, chemistry, business administration, communications and environmental sciences. All candidates are selected from a database and are screened for employment status, language ability and educational credentials.

Internationally trained professionals interested in becoming an intern in the OPS Internship Program apply directly to Career Bridge to become a Career Bridge candidate. Once in the Career Bridge candidate database, individuals are able to

Ontario Public Service (OPS) Internship Program for Internationally Trained Professionals


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apply for available internships within the Ontario Public Service.

To apply for the Career Bridge Program the candidate must qualify the following:

• Be legally entitled to work in Canada • Been in Canada no longer than 3 years • Have a minimum of 3 years international experience in their respective

field • Be able to attend a screening interview in person • Possess at least a bachelor degree from Canada or abroad (this does not

include online degrees) • Possess a recent Canadian assessment of educational qualifications

(document-by-document) from recognized institutions • Seeking Canadian work experience in unregulated professions such as

business, technology and general management • Lack paid Canadian work experience in his/her profession • Be fluent in English

For More Information Website of the Ministry http://www.citizenship.gov.on.ca/english/working/internship Career Bridge http://www.careerbridge.ca/cbbecomeintern.asp


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"I'm a very strong believer in the (Career Bridge) program and I promote it left, right and centre." (Issaaf Hawamdeh, Ministry of Community and Social Services, Career Bridge Program Alumnus)3

The Ontario Public Service Internship Program is an excellent practice. The government has to lead by example and that’s one way to do it. (Key Informant)

All key informants, without any exception, found this program unique with great potential to facilitate immigrant access to professional employment. They found the program demonstrated provincial government leadership on this issue by setting a positive example for others to follow. The discussion with key informants revealed that the program has been a success in meeting the employment objectives of immigrants. The program was also considered a promising practice because it has the potential for implementation to other settings or jurisdictions.

We have 85% of participants in the first year of internship found that the experience was relevant to their career aims and ambitions. They found it a useful experience. I think 70% found a job shortly after their internships. So it’s a very high level of employment outcome. (Key Informant)

The successful outcomes in the program’s first year have continued. According to the most program statistics, 87% of the interns who completed the OPS Internship Program for Internationally Trained Individuals (ITIs) have already found full-time professional employment. Of those who completed the program, 81% characterized their internship in the OPS as a meaningful work experience, and relevant to their career goals.

3 http://www.careerbridge.ca/testimonials.asp


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Employment outcomes of interns placed within the OPS, according to the most recent survey (July 2008)4

OPS Internship for Internationally Trained Individu als - Hiring OPS Manager satisfaction survey results

On a scale of 1 to 5 (highly satisfied: 5)

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.503.00

3.50

4.00

4.50

5.00

1. number ofapplicants

2. quality ofcandidates

3. reasonablematch of

candidate's field

4. sufficientlevel of

English/French

5. candidatesmet

expectations

6. overallsatisfaction withapplicant pool

2007-08 (73% response rate)

With this positive perception of the program, all the key informants found the program to be a prime candidate to be implemented in British Columbia. They suggested that the government should come forward and show other employers in the private sector how to involve internationally educated employees in their workplace.

This internship program is interesting one, it would be great if [BC] government can show some example by leading (we can do it you can do it. (Key Informant)

4 Information provided by the MCI Lead for OPS Internship Program for ITIs


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It is absolutely replicable in BC and I don’t see any challenges or barriers in doing that. I think we should and we can. (Key Informant)

Conclusion The participants were unanimous that the Ontario Public Internship Program is a promising practice, and that something similar should be implemented by the British Columbia government as well.

I think it is an excellent idea. Absolutely it could be replicated in BC. I think it is really important as we go and talk to employers and if you talk of leadership then government should take the lead in this too. This is a super idea. (Key Informant)


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Helping newcomers get their license or certificate and employment experience in their profession or trade

Category Funding

Purpose To help qualified internationally trained individuals move quickly into the labour

market of Ontario. Ministry/Department Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration

What are the Bridge Training Programs

The Ontario government funds programs that can help newcomers get their license or certificate in their profession or trade (regulated professions) so that they can work in Ontario.

These programs have been led by employers, colleges and universities, occupational regulatory bodies, and community organizations. They are called 'Bridging programs’ because they bridge the gap between newcomers’ past experiences and skills and the Canadian labour market requirements. Each Bridging program is different and may provide individuals with:

• An assessment of education and skills

• A clinical or workplace experience

• Skills training or targeted academic training programs

• Preparation for a license or certification examination

• Language training for a profession or trade

• Individual learning plans to identify any added training you may need

The programs assess existing skills and competencies, compared to Ontario employer expectations. They provide training and Canadian workplace experience without duplicating what newcomers have already learned.

For More Information Website of the Ministry:

http://www.citizenship.gov.on.ca/english/working/experience

Government of Ontario’s Funding for Bridge Training Programs


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In Ontario we have lots of bridging projects that the provincial government funds. These are really helpful programs because they help them [immigrants] connect with the workplace which is very critical.

Funding for Bridge Training Programs was identified as one of the provincial government best practices. These programs are considered to be very useful for helping immigrants to get Canadian work experience and eventually to find jobs.

I think bridging programs have tremendous potential [for immigrants to get jobs] and are far better than sending them back to school to start over again.

These programs were assessed positively by key informants because they involved key stakeholders (i.e., employers, occupational regulatory bodies, community organizations, colleges and universities, immigrants) in addressing immigrant employment barriers. The role of the government was to set the programs’ general criteria and to provide funding. Research participants saw the potential for applying this type of program funding stream to other provinces. Despite a lack of comprehensive evaluation across the funded programs, key informant perceived that individual Bridge Training programs have produced positive outcomes. For instance, it was believed that more people are passing nursing exams after taking the nursing bridge training program. A similar result was observed in other professions.

The pass rate for the pharmacist before taking the programs was 20% and after taking the programs it is 90%. So it is a big difference. (Key Informant)

While these programs are thought to have considerable potential to help immigrants getting jobs, a few participants raised the question about the sustainability of such programs due to limited funding. One such example is the Teach in Ontario Program, where the core component of the program is no longer funded by the government.

The biggest weakness is creating sustainability of the programs. Teach in Ontario is an excellent program, however, the core component of the program is no longer been funded with still 350 people on the waiting list for the program. (Key Informant)

It seems to me ridiculous that so much money was invested in setting up a program which works really well and no more commitment from the


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government to work closely with us to find ways to make sure that it [Teach in Ontario Program] continues. (Key Informant)

The discussion with key informants indicates that the British Columbia government has it own version of bridge training programs and they have recently funded Skills Connect for Immigrant Program5 implemented by the Ministry of Economic Development.

The BC government has its own version of bridge training programs and they funded the skill connect programs and they are going to be funding some enhanced language training programs or projects starting in the summer or the fall. (Key Informant)

However, while Government of Ontario funds these programs in nearly 30 different sectors, the British Columbia government focuses only on five key sectors of the economy—construction, transportation, energy, tourism/hospitality and health. Conclusion While the British Columbia government has a similar version of the Bridge Training Program, its focus is limited to just five key sectors of the economy where acute skill shortages are felt. Some key informants suggested seeking more input from immigrant serving agencies about the future focus of these programs to align them to the needs of immigrant professionals. Based on their closer interaction with immigrant professionals, BCITP Net could provide recommendations on how to tailor these bridge training programs to both British Columbia immigrants as well as to the provincial economy. As such BCITP Net may wish to suggest the expansion of the program to include more sectors of the labour market.

We would like to do more research on where we should emphasize. What should be the focus? We can get input from some immigrant serving agencies for this purpose. (Key Informant)

5 http://www.ecdev.gov.bc.ca/ProgramsAndServices/IQU/SkillsConnect


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A model to address international qualifications assessment and recognition issues

Category Qualification assessment and recognition

Purpose To address the International Qualifications Assessment and Recognition (IQAR)

issues and develop practical and realistic solutions. Ministry/Department Multiple stakeholders including the provincial Office of Immigration

What are the Multiple-Stakeholder Work Groups

In response to the barriers related to IQAR, Nova Scotia developed a model which involves the formation of profession-specific multi-stakeholder work groups for the purpose of addressing IQAR issues and developing practical solutions at the provincial level. The Office of the Immigration is taking the lead on these groups with other stakeholders sitting around the table.

Currently, there are multi-stakeholder work groups in the fields of Medicine, Pharmacy, Engineering, Teaching, Nursing and the Skilled Trades. Each work group involves key stakeholder including:

• Professional Association or Occupational Regulatory Body • Educational Institution—university, college, continuing education • Government—the provincial Office of Immigration and other departments

as relevant • Employer representatives • Representatives of associations of internationally educated professionals • Immigrant serving agencies • Language program providers

The leadership of each multi-stakeholder group is somewhat different. The Medicine work group is chaired by the Associate Dan of Continuing Medical Education at Dalhousie University, the Pharmacy group is chaired by non-regulatory Professional Association of Pharmacists, and the Engineering work group is co-chaired by Engineers Nova Scotia and MISA.

For More Information Metropolitan Immigrant Settlement Association (MISA)

www.misa.ns.ca Dalhousie University, Faculty of Medicine, Continuing Medical Education http://cme.medicine.dal.ca Engineers Nova Scotia www.engineersnovascotia.ca Pharmacists Association of Nova Scotia www.pans.ns.ca

Multi-stakeholder Work Groups for Regulated Occupat ions in Nova Scotia


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This is a great idea, because you are linking the immigrant voice right into the occupations. (Key Informant)

The Multi-stakeholder Work Groups for Regulated Occupations in Nova Scotia (called the “model”) was considered to be a provincial government promising practice to address the immigrant qualification assessment and recognition issue. Many key informants found the qualification assessment and recognition as one of the major barriers that hindered the access of internationally trained professionals to employment. Key informants cited different evidences where this model has effectively addressed the issue of qualification assessment and recognition for various occupations. For instance, the engineers work group has introduced an interview process for highly experienced engineers in lieu of wiring exams for their credential recognition.

These kinds of things [writing exams for credential recognition] would not happen if we didn't have this forum of a multi-stakeholder group where all people begin to have a shared vision of moving forward. (Key Informant)

The fact that these work groups bring all the key stakeholders at one table was appreciated by many key informants and this has been seen as one of the primary reasons that these groups have the potential to produce positive outcomes.

This is a model that brings everybody around the table so that the discussion can happen and all the people that are concerned are there. (Key Informant)

The reason that it works very well is that you have all the key players at the table and you don't have a situation where you have to go from one place or organization to other asking for resources or information—the regulatory bodies are there, educational institutions are there, the government is there, etc. (Key Informant)

The key informants also found that these work groups provided an opportunity to develop programs in partnerships with other stakeholders. For instance, the medicine work group is discussing ways in which the local university may offer programs to help international medical graduates with clinical assessment programs.


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The other thing is the opportunity [that this model provides] to develop programs sometimes in partnership that will open up new pathways. (Key Informant)

The research participants also positively appraised the nature of these work groups—focusing on specific occupations rather than looking at all professions across the board. There are different processes and regulations governing each profession and the challenges and the issues vary greatly from profession to profession. Even within a specific sector, each profession has its own complexities.

We initially – quite a few years ago – tried to look at the professions across the board and then from there we almost immediately ran into problems related to the fact that there's so much variety, the difference between the processes and how they're regulated and the challenges really differ very significantly across professions.

Even at a sectoral level (e.g. health)— [the group] wasn’t conducive to really meaningful change because pharmacy is different from nursing. Nursing is different from medicine. Medicine is different from physiotherapy. Physiotherapy is very different from med lab technology. So each one of those professions have their own particular challenges—some are greater, some are less, some are more complicated than others. (Key Informant)

It terms of its replicability within other jurisdictions, key informants saw potential for such work groups to be effective in other jurisdictions, including British Columbia.

There’s not really any reason why it couldn't be done elsewhere and I think the only really reasonable and rational way to go about trying to bring about change in relation to a regulated occupation is by bringing everybody who has something to do with it. (Key Informant)

However, the participants noted that such initiatives would particularly work well in smaller provinces, like Nova Scotia, where every one involved tends to know each other and most of the activity is in one city (e.g. Halifax in the case of Nova Scotia). Convening such work groups in larger provinces or territories were thought to be logistically challenging.

The advantage we have is that we know who the players are [in Nova Scotia]. So for example [in] the settlement sector, if you were in Toronto there would be so many people that it would be difficult to find who would actually represent the settlement sector? (Key Informant)


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I think for the BC government to take on leadership of a multi-stakeholder approach to regulated occupations would not be that difficult. I think the major challenge might be just logistics. It may be difficult getting the right people together in the same place because the province is larger. (Key Informant)

A couple of key informants were not supportive of involving government in such an initiative and thought collaboration would work better without the presence of the government.

There may not be the risk in Halifax but including government can be risky in BC. Depending on the level of involvement of government you end up being co-opted. After a certain period of time the group ends up being a government group. (Key Informant)

Conclusion The key informants were generally appreciative of the occupation specific multi-stakeholder work group model. They felt that the time was right for all parties within a specific profession to convene and collaborate. However, considering the large size of the province, the participants were not certain if this promising practice would be easily applicable to British Columbia as a whole. One suggestion was to adapt the model to a regional level, especially the lower mainland and Victoria where there are large concentrations of internationally trained professions. This suggestion was seen to be complimentary to the TRIEC-like immigrant employment council that the Vancouver Community Foundation is forming. (The multi-stakeholder work group model focuses on individual professional occupations, not on the broader topic of immigrant employment). It was felt that BCITP Net, in collaboration with other organizations, would need to further explore the interest and viability of this adapted model.

I think there’s a shared understanding that it is time to grapple with these issues and multi-stakeholder approach is the one that really is going to have good results because it’s a shared problem. (Key Informant)


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Involving municipalities to support social and economic integration of immigrants.

Category Legislation/Funding

Purpose To facilitate the participation of Ontario municipal governments in addressing issues and pursuing opportunities related to municipal interests in immigration.

Ministry/Department Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration (MCI) and local municipalities across Ontario.

What is Tri-Government Partnership/Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement

In November 2005, Ontario signed the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement with the federal government. Through the Agreement, Canada and Ontario are seeking to work towards supporting successful social and economic integration of immigrants. The Agreement is the first in Canada to recognize that municipalities have an important role to play in the integration of immigrants to Ontario. Outside of Toronto The Municipal Immigration Committee (MIC) was established to explore municipal interest in immigration, and is Co-Chaired by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration (MCI) and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). Through the Committee, municipalities from across the province have identified attraction and retention as well as settlement and integration as key municipal priorities. The objectives of the Municipal Immigration Committee (MIC) are to:

• Share information and consult on immigration and integration matters and their impact on municipal governments

• Identify and pursue opportunities to collaborate on initiatives to attract and retain immigrants

• Identify and pursue opportunities to collaborate on initiatives in support of the successful settlement and integration of immigrants in Ontario

• Support the development of minority official language communities through immigration.

Within Toronto In addition to the Municipal Immigration Committee, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Immigration and Settlement was signed by C anada, Ontario and the City of Toronto in October 2006. The MOU provides a framework for trilateral discussions on immigration policies and programs that impact the city of Toronto. It focuses on improving outcomes for immigrants through several areas of interest to all three governments, including citizenship and civic engagement, and facilitating access to employment, services, and educational and training opportunities.

For More Information The Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement can be found at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/laws-policy/agreements/ontario/ont-2005-agree.asp Canada-Ontario-Toronto Memorandum of Understanding on Immigration and Settlement: http://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGLIsh/department/laws-policy/agreements/ontario/can-ont-toronto-mou.asp

Ontario Tri-Government Partnership (The Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement)


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Another promising practice is our inter-governmental relations. This is very interesting where all levels of government (municipal, provincial and federal) come together in a non-threatening environment where we have trust over time, where people can talk across jurisdiction to untangle the web that exists. (Key Informant)

The Ontario Tri-government Partnership, resulted from the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, is identified as another provincial government promising practice. It is considered a positive step to support successful social and economic integration of immigrants. Participants saw the inclusion of municipalities in this partnership as an important and unique aspect of the agreement.

The Canada Ontario Immigration Agreement was very important insofar as it recognized the importance of immigration, not only to the federal government and to the province but also to the municipalities. (Key Informant)

The urban areas are the areas which are closest to the ground and have the expertise in dealing with immigrants, so whether you’re talking about Toronto or you‘re talking about Vancouver, the municipalities really need to be at the table. So I think that’s been very significant here [in the agreement]. (Key Informant)

Municipalities [are] where the rubber hits the road in terms of immigration. Where the services happen, where the jobs are, where the integration is happening or not. (Key Informant)

In particular, participants positively appraised the establishment of the Municipal Immigration Committee (MIC). The Municipal Immigration Committee has been instrumental in creating the Local Immigrant Partnerships (LIPs). The federal government through the Canada-Ontario agreement provides funding to develop local partnerships that plan and coordinate local immigration services and supports.

I think MIC is a positive step. Municipalities have different interests in immigration. So it took a little bit of time to develop a cohesive approach. (Key Informant)

The tri-government partnership provides an opportunity for different levels of government to come together and sort out different implementation issues.

I’ll give you a little example where head of the social services department of Peel Region is talking at our table with the head of Ontario Department


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that administers welfare. They sorted out implementation issues at the table. These kinds of things do not happen in other arenas. (Key Informant)

The key informants found the tri-government partnership has already started some immigration related initiatives. For example, the funding for city-led immigrant web portals resulted from this agreement. Aside from providing some general information about the municipalities, these web portals can help the immigrants to see where their skills are in demand.

When people type into Google ‘immigrating to Toronto’ they get the City’s website, so it’s very important that we have accurate and up-to-date information on the local level in terms of immigration. (Key Informant)

However, key informants raised the question about the sustainability of the web portal initiatives.

I think one of the issues around that is maintenance of the website. I believe this was one-time funding, so now that that funding was over in order to develop that portal, off the City's website then that responsibility gets devolved into the internal city workings and we don't necessarily have the resources for that. (Key Informant)

In terms of its transferability to British Columbia, the majority of participants supported its replicability in British Columbia. For them this tri-government commitment would allow a better flow of resources from the federal and provincial governments to municipalities to initiate new immigrant-related programs.

One has to just build partnerships between governments – between the federal, provincial and the municipal governments. So I would suggest that there should be one in BC, if it already hasn't been done. [The agreement] certainly has been very helpful here [in Ontario] both in terms of governments working with governments as well as with flowing money and developing new programs and services based on a new reality of immigration which is different than it was 10 or 15 years ago. (Key Informant)

A few of the key informants, however, were less certain as to how this promising practice would fare in the context of British Columbia. They saw both similarities and differences in the contexts of the two provinces. Like Ontario (where most land immigrants in and around Toronto), approximately 85% of immigrants to British Columbia land in Metro Vancouver. However, British Columbia has fewer second tier cities than Ontario with growing immigrant populations.


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Most of the immigrant discussion relate to Metro Vancouver. It may be little different than the Ontario experience where in Ontario you have very large cities which are not actually part of GTA, whereas in BC it’s Vancouver or nothing. (Key Informant)

Conclusion All the participants were supportive of the idea of involving the municipal governments and providing them greater role in immigration and settlement issues. British Columbia has a labour market agreement with Canada under which the province receives funding to address gaps in the labour market. However, unlike the Ontario-Canada agreement, municipalities are not part of this partnership. Moreover, this agreement does not specifically address the needs of immigrant professionals in the labour market. BCITP Net could explore what kind of role municipalities can play and advocate for greater involvement of municipalities in this agreement. Also BCITP Net could identify the areas that this agreement should be focusing on to address the specific needs of BC immigrant professionals.

There is potentially room [for municipalities] in the agreement [British Columbia-Canada Labour Market Agreement]. It is up to the provincial government to work with partners to delegate the funding. The doors are open to that. This is our first year so it’s sort of a learning year. (Key Informant)


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III- BRITISH COLUMBIA CONTEXT: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

This section briefly discusses the challenges and opportunities that key informants see in facilitating immigrant access to professional employment in British Columbia. Overall, the challenges primarily relate to a lack of cohesion in the working of various government ministries and departments. Key informants also identified some unique opportunities, mostly demographic, that can facilitate the access of immigrants to professional employment in British Columbia. Challenges Many of the participants saw that the British Columbia government lacked a holistic approach towards immigration in general, including immigrant employment issues. In their view, the government response to date has been fragmented with multiple ministries leading a variety of isolated initiatives, as opposed to a consolidating of efforts.

In BC they split the supply from the demand side. On supply side settlement and language program is one ministry. On demand side getting people jobs and connecting them to employment is another ministry that is called Economic Development. So you got this split and the government is not looking at immigration as a whole. (Key Informant)

They are not approaching immigrant employment in a holistic manner, rather they are doing it on a piecemeal basis. There is a lack of coordination between different ministries. This is a kind of scattered approach. (Key Informant)

Some participants saw the coordination between different ministries and/or departments as a significant challenge. However, other participants, representing government, noted that the government was aware of this problem and has begun to address this issue.

Overall we have a pretty good working relationships between different ministries and departments. So we have got a pretty good understanding across the key ministries what our objectives are and including things like the importance of internationally trained professionals. (Key Informant)

[Coordination] is a challenge but it is a recognized challenge. It’s just part of our work. It’s well known and we are all aware of it. So it’s our job to build strong linkages. I would say it’s a manageable challenge. We have several inter-ministries committees to address this challenge. (Key Informant)


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Although the people from the government would tell you that they interact, connect, working together and everything but they are totally separate. They don’t talk, they don’t connect and they have got different goals, because they are different ministries with different objectives. So this is a major obstacle to moving things forward. (Key Informant)

Key informants also identified the lack of financial resources as another challenge. Limited resources was seen to particularly affects the sustainability of many initiatives.

There are always the challenges of not enough money because we have to operate under our budget and legislation. There is never enough money to do some of these social programs (e.g. language training, just providing information out there). (Key Informant)

Funding is obviously one big challenge as it is expensive to implement these initiatives. (Key Informant)

Opportunities Participants found that there were certain unique opportunities that existed in British Columbia that would help moving the agenda of immigrant employment forward. The existing demographic situation in the province with a large immigrant population and significant skills shortages was considered as conducive to address the immigrant employment issue. This situation, at the same time, warrants quick action.

BC gets a lot of immigrants. At present [BC] has a very low unemployment rate and they have skills shortages. So I would think that it would be wise for them [BC government] to act and act quickly.

BC has the opportunity in terms of their demographics. I think BC will find it easier because of their labour market situation where they have quite an acute labour market needs. So I think BC may be in a very good position because it has got quite a lot of experience. (Key Informant)

We [in British Columbia] already have a very visible immigrant population. We have a lot of leadership in the immigrant community. I think we are well positioned [to advance the agenda of immigrant employment]. (Key Informant)

Some participants saw the upcoming elections an opportunity for immigrant employment if the politicians are made aware of the importance of this issue.

One positive thing is that there is a window of opportunity of trying to make the case that this is about immigrant vote. So there is some leverage there if the right kind of message can be conveyed and you can convince


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politicians that this is a vote winning message—that this will help you get elected. (Key Informant)

A few key informants saw the Olympics as an opportunity for creating the jobs for people, including immigrants.

I do see the Olympics as an opportunity for workers. It’s not just the 16 days event; there would be activities before and after. I know the organizing committee is looking at that. (Key Informant)

With the increasing inflow of population into BC in general it is going to create more need for professionals (doctors, hospital staff etc). (Key Informant)

Others did not see the 2010 Olympics as an opportunity for professional employment. In fact they perceived the Olympics as a challenge as it is taking the focus away from immigrant employment issue.

Economically, the whole focus of our government is 2010, because of the Olympics. So the government basically doesn’t care about anything else. (Key Informant)

It is a limited window of opportunity. It is uncertain what is going to happen after 2010, if the economy is going into a slump, then you have got an outflow of population [from the province]. (Key Informant)

One of the challenges that we are working is to make better connections with employer community but the employer community is also very much interested into the Olympics. So it’s not only the political challenge but a challenge in the general population as we gear up to the Olympics. Olympics are beginning to dominate every one’s agenda. (Key Informant)

I don’t know how [the Olympics] is going to relate with professional immigrant employment. The doctors’ shortage is very secondary but staffing hotels and restaurants is more important. (Key Informant)

Conclusion Mostly the challenges relate to coordination between the ministries and lack of sustainability of initiatives due to limited financial resources. BCITP Net could advocate for a more cohesive government approach to address the issue of immigrant employment and lobby, with other stakeholders, for increased allocation of resources to address this issue. The existing demographic situation in Columbia provides a significant opportunity for the BCITP Net to promote its mandate and convince the political leaders of the importance of the issue in the upcoming elections.


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IV- STRATEGIES FOR THE BCITP NET This section summarizes strategies that key informants suggested that BCITP Net could adopt in its future advocacy. A couple of participants questioned whether there was a role left today for a network like BCITP Net. For them, there are a number of associations and groups who are helping their ethnic communities or people from their professions (e.g. Association of African Teachers, Doctors Associations etc) and groups like BCITP Net might not be needed any more.

It’s interesting to question whether this whole idea of a round table association may have had its day as well. I think that in fact the government is now aware of the issue, the media is aware of the issue, the general public is aware of the issue and in fact there is action. It is difficult to know what kind of information, input BCITP Net can actually provide. (Key Informant)

The power in the collective voice was raising the voice collectively. But now the media is aware of the issue, the general public, the government, in short every body. The question is what role that collective voice takes now? (Key Informant)

However, the majority of key informants saw the value of a professional immigrant network. To strengthen this voice, they suggested that BCITP Net should develop partnerships with other stakeholders such as regulatory bodies, educational institutions, employers, government, immigrants and other community based organizations.

It is important to have immigrant voice but it is also important that immigrant voices are connected with other networks as well, voices like chamber, employers, educational institutions. (Key Informant)

I would say work in collaboration and partnerships. Governments always like working in partnerships. Bring people together and establish partnership. (Key Informant) I think if the BCITP Net’s goal is to influence government the only way is to build strong, broad based collaboration. They should include the leading institutions, the leading stakeholders in the BC and work with them to develop the idea as to what needs to be done by the government and by others and then present the proposal to the BC government. (Key Informant)


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Key informants recommended that BCITP Net should identify just one or two promising practices that they feel has the greatest relevance and potential for applicability in the British Columbia. The Network then should hold discussions with all tiers of the government to move these ideas forward.

The Network might want to sit down and review some of the findings [of this background document] and may be pick one or two of the most significant themes that have come up through your interviews with people and then start getting together with their federal, provincial and municipal policy-makers and movers and shakers and try to get things moving on this. (Key Informant)

Some of the participants also suggested that in their advocacy efforts, BCITP Net should invite people from other provinces who are involved in developing and implementing these promising practices to share their experiences with the stakeholders, primarily the government, in the British Columbia.

It would be interesting to convene a small conference where you invite in a couple of key speakers from various provinces to talk about the initiatives. [For instance] It would probably be interesting having someone from the Ontario Fair Access Commission to come out and explain how it's working and whether we would recommend doing anything different or whatever. (Key Informant)

After having this report [BCITP Net] should organize a consultation, inviting stakeholders from other provinces implementing these initiatives. (Key Informant)

The key informants suggested that for the BCITP Net to advance its mandate, it should engage the employers , including the government , by educating them about the importance of hiring immigrants and providing them tools to do so.

Bring the Chamber, or Board of Trade in the case of Vancouver, or a group of businesses to come forward and champion and speak on this issue. This is how you get other businesses to pay attention to. (Key Informant)

[BCITP Net] should work with employers. Try to figure out what employers need in order to hire—in order to feel comfortable, to mitigate what employers see as a risk in hiring immigrants. I think anything you can do to engage employers on these issues is really important. (Key Informant)

Many of the key informants suggested that BCITP Net should articulate the issue of immigrant employment from an economic imperative perspective rather than a social justice perspective in order to bring the business community on board.


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Developing evidence based messages about the impending acute labour shortages and importance of hiring immigrants was seen as one of the important strategies that BCITP Net could use to engage employers and helping them to understand the issue.

The issue needs to be handled as economic/self interest as opposed to social justice Present the proposal to the BC government as a strong voice for BC prosperity as opposed to strong voice for immigrants and position the message in that light. (Key Informant)

The other piece of this I think is making the economic argument and that's – labour force used to be in some ways seen as a social service and now I think people are seeing the labour force and integrating immigrants into the economy as an economic development issue. (Key Informant)

You have to approach the issue from the view point that both sides of the equation have deficits, and deficits need to be put on the table. There are individuals who have deficits which are skilled immigrants and at the same time there employers who have deficits and the system has deficits too. So all these need to be addressed upon. (Key Informant)

Key informants also pointed out that we often forget that the government is also an employer. They identified that one of the main roles that BCITP Net could play would be to advocate for the government to fulfill its responsibility as an employer. The Ontario Public Internship Program was cited as an example where the government is taking the lead as an employer.

All you have to do is look at the Statistics Canada, the Census, and you can see that we are heavily dependent on immigrants and we're going to be even more so with the aging population and the less-than-replacement birth rates. So I would be getting those messages out as best I could to the three levels of government. (Key Informant)


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V- CONCLUSIONS Based on first round of interviews with the national key informants, the research identified seven provincial governments promising practices. The BCITP Net steering committee showed interest in five of those practices and suggested to focus on them. Of these five practices all the key informants supported that BCITP Net should advocate for Ontario Public Service Internship Program to be implemented in British Columbia. Similarly the research participants recommended giving a greater role for the municipalities in British Columbia to address the immigrant employment issues through a tri-government partnership. BCITP Net should also advocate for a greater involvement of municipalities in the Canada-British Columbia labour market agreement and to look for ways this agreement could better serve the needs of immigrant professionals. Other practices appear to have varying degrees of relevance and potential for implementation in the British Columbia. However, there are certain important messages and ideas that BCITP Net could use to inform its future advocacy plans. For instance, the BCITP Net could advocate for regulatory bodies to have certain mandatory reporting requirements to make their practices fair and transparent. It could identify areas or sectors of economy where the government should provide funding for bridge training programs. The Network could explore the need, possibility and interest of different stakeholders and advocate the government to set up occupation-specific working groups at the provincial or regional level. The existing demographic situation in the British Columbia with acute skills shortage is an opportunity for BCITP Net to advance its mandate and initiate advocacy efforts. The Network could engage other stakeholders, particularly the employers and government, and help them understand the importance of hiring immigrants for the prosperity of the province.


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APPENDICES


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Facilitating Immigrant Access to Professional Emplo yment: Provincial Government Promising Practices

National Key Informant Questions Involvement In what way have you been involved on the issue of access to professions for

internationally educated people? • What is your formal role and mandate? • With what key initiatives have you been involved?

Identification of Promising Practices When thinking of provincial government initiatives that facilitate immigrant access

to professional employment, what criteria do you use when assessing what makes a “promising” practice”?

What provincial governments initiatives are you aware of that meet the criteria

you mentioned above? Initiatives could include the following categories: • Legislation • Training or workshops • Matching (e.g., host, mentoring, internships) • Internal human resources (placement and internships in government) • Credential/prior learning assessment • Funding (resourcing others to carry out the categories above) • Other

How can we learn more about the government initiatives that you described

above? • Are there contact names and coordinates for those leading those initiatives? • Are there web links for those initiatives?

Applying Promising Practices to the BC Context What challenges do you see the BC government facing in replicating these initiatives in BC (if known)? What suggestions do you have for the BCITP Net take in advocating for these initiatives in BC?


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Provincial Key Informant Questions Involvement In what way have you been involved on the issue of access to professions for

internationally educated people? • What is your formal role and mandate? • With what key initiatives have you been involved?

Identification of Promising Practices What provincial government initiatives are you aware of that you would describe

as promising practices? Initiatives could include the following categories: • Legislation • Training or workshops • Matching (e.g., host, mentoring, internships) • Internal human resources (placement and internships in government) • Credential/prior learning assessment • Funding (resourcing others to carry out the categories above) • Other

To what extent is this initiative (or initiatives): • Representative of different stakeholders (e.g. government, immigrants,

service providers, employers etc) • Inclusive of diverse immigrants needs • Portable/replicable • Sustainable • Having positive outcomes/successes

How can we learn more about the government initiatives that you described above? • Are there contact names and coordinates for those leading those initiatives? • Are there web links for those initiatives?

Applying Promising Practices to the BC Context What challenges do you see the BC government facing in replicating these initiatives in BC? What strategy should the BCITP Net take in advocating for these initiatives in BC?


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BC Key Informant Questions Involvement What responsibilities do you have on the issue of access to professions for

people educated internationally? • What is your formal role and mandate?

Challenges/Political Context What challenges do you see existing today to policy development in BC for

access to professions for immigrants? • Challenges within or across specific ministries or departments? • Other challenges arising within the political system? • Challenges arising from outside the political system?

What are the opportunities that now exist?

• What brought about these opportunities and what is their current impact? • Who are the leaders to promote these?

Comment on ‘Promising Practices’ What is your assessment of these promising practices (provided to you)?

• To what extent do they facilitate immigrant professionals’ access to professional employment?

• To what extent are they applicable (implementable) in the BC Context? • What changes/modifications could be made to make them more relevant

to the BC? Suggestions for BCITP Net What type of role can a community-based group, like BCITP Net play in

encouraging progressive policy on access to professions for immigrants?

• What type of information/input could BCITP Net provide that would help in policy development?

• What kind of strategies BCITP Net should be employing to advance its mandate (i.e. facilitating immigrants’ access to professional employment)

Any other suggestion?


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Key Informants National Key Informants

Provincial Key Informants BC Key Informants

Ratna Omidvar Jan Sheppard Kutcher Cindy Williams Yves E. Beaudin Katherine Hewson Kelly Pollack Franca Piccin Nuzhat Jafri Mark Gillis Deborah Wolfe Susan Brown Suzanne Ferguson Julie Ball Clifford Bell Jane Cullingworth Sanjeev Nand Lori Fontaine Bill Walters Brian Evernden (provided

input through email)

Askin Taner (provided information about OPS Internship Program)

facilitating immigrant access to professional employment: provincial government ......

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