TORONTO -- Government efforts to resolve the issue of foreign credentials recognition are being hindered by professional regulatory agencies, Conservative MP Jason Kenney said yesterday.
The agencies are "keeping the doors shut" for new Canadians trying to find work in their chosen profession, Kenney said.
"The myth of the PhD driving a taxi, or an engineer working at the corner store is all too true," Kenney told policy makers at a diversity conference in Toronto.
"We cannot move forward without the regulatory bodies breaking down their barriers, and it is time they begin to do so," he said.
Kenney said that while his government is committed to resolving the foreign credentials problem, it doesn't have the jurisdiction to force provincially mandated regulatory agencies, such as those that regulate the legal and medical professions, to co-operate.
"While many of these bodies understand the need for foreign credentials recognition, many more have tried to keep the door shut on new Canadians who wish to practise in their area of expertise," said Kenney, who was recently appointed the secretary of state for multiculturalism.
Speaking to The Canadian Press from Ottawa, federal NDP Leader Jack Layton said that it's not a matter of force, but co-operation between the federal and provincial bodies.
"It's about co-ordinating with these agencies and making sure immigrants have complete knowledge about what they are going to face when they arrive in Canada," he said.
Layton said this kind of "buck-passing" is the reason the federal Tories have made little progress on the issue over the past year.
"Trying to pass off the responsibility is cold comfort to the many immigrants who came here," Layton said.
They were allowed into the country by the federal government "based on their professional certification and experience, only to find when they arrive, doors slammed in their face," he said.
Last year, the Conservative government allocated $18 million for consultations on the creation of a foreign credentials recognition program.
Immigration Minister Diane Finley is expected to make an announcement "in the very near future" about such an office.
Layton said it's about time the Tories took some action on the issue.
"This is a promise the Conservatives made in the election and was provided for in the budget a year ago. It's disturbing to me to hear that they are just getting around to this now," said Layton.
"Each month that goes by, these people slip further and further behind and the prosperity gap for new immigrants just continues to grow for these hard-working families," he said.