Toronto,Ontario
PROPOSED BILL TO ADDRESS FOREIGN CREDENTIAL RECOGNITION IN ONTARIO
Tony A. San Juan, OCT-Retired
A Member of Provincial Parliament( MPP) has introduced a Private Member’s Bill to address barriers for internationally trained professionals, especially nurses, doctors, and other health care workers. Doly Begum, MPP for Scarborough Southwest tabled the bill on March 9, 2022.
The proposed Act known as Bill 98, “Fairness for Ontario’s Internationally Trained Workers Act, 2022”, will also deal with the employment of internationally educated non-regulated professionals or internationally-trained workers. Begum is the New Democratic Party’s (NDP) critic for Citizenship, Foreign Credentials Recognition, and Immigration. She also authored Bill 217 proclaiming the month of “June as Filipino Heritage Month” in Ontario on May 13, 2021, in recognition of Filipinos’ contributions to society.
According to Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath, if the Bill is passed it will “force the government to finally take action to fix the foreign credentials system in Ontario, so people can get to work in their field quicker”. The credential system would rightly cover “for people with the right university degrees, relevant work experience, training, and professional credentials, to be certified faster in Ontario” and this includes Filipino newcomers, immigrants, and permanent residents who are considered internationally-trained professionals or ITPs.
The Begum Bill, once it becomes law, specifically “would compel the government to address accreditation barriers faced by internationally trained professionals”. For example, the barrier of required local experience with a job-matching program to guarantee internationally trained physicians can get local experience that counts towards their accreditation; and “would make it easier for internationally educated nurses to gain recognition of their international clinical experiences and apply for clinical placements here in Ontario.
Bill 98 has at least 2 major provisions. First, it “provides that the Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development shall establish a “Foreign Credential Recognition Advisory Committee” that shall make recommendations to the Minister regarding the employment of internationally trained workers. In this respect, the Ministry of Labour would have to establish an Advisory Committee for Employment access, fairness, and experience recognition for internationally educated non-regulated professionals.
In the second provision, the Bill “also provides that the Minister of Health shall establish an “Internationally Trained and Educated Healthcare Professions Advisory Committee” that shall make recommendations to the Minister regarding the employment of internationally trained and educated healthcare professionals. Addressing this, the Ministry of Health will have to establish an Advisory Committee to “advise on changes to the credential recognition and work experience processes available for internationally trained regulated healthcare professionals”.
Within 90 days of passing, the relevant ministries must appoint members to each advisory group. The relevant ministries must also make the appointments public. A detailed plan will be developed in consultation with internationally trained professionals, regulatory bodies, professional associations, settlement organizations, and employment organizations. The proposed bill has passed through its First Reading and Second Reading and is now referred to the appropriate Committee in the Ontario Legislature for final reading.
Very interesting and encouraging…giving hope to internationally trained professionals especially in the medical field. I hope this bill will be passed.