Bill 124 stalls on independent appeal issue – NDP

Bill 124 stalls on independent appeal issue – NDP

TORONTO–The Fair Access to Trades and Professions Act does not fully ensure fairness in the accreditation process for internationally educated professionals because the McGuinty Liberals are refusing newcomers the right for independent appeal of registration decisions made by regulatory bodies, says NDP Citizenship and Immigration Critic Peter Tabuns.

“The Fair Access to Trades and Professions Act, aka Bill 124, which just passed third reading yesterday evening, is suppose to break down barriers to professions for internationally educated professionals (IEPs) by making the accreditation process that is often arbitrary, prolonged and expensive for IEPS more fair and transparent. But the Liberals have reneged on providing the right for independent appeal, which is fundamental to making accreditation fair, and was suppose to have been the impetus for Bill 124 in the first place.”

Tabuns points out how the Thomson Report, a Liberal government commissioned review of accreditation, was the basis for Bill 124. “In 2004 the Liberals appointed former Ontario Justice George Thomson to review all accreditation processes and recommend to the government an appropriate process for independent appeals for all professions (see backgrounder). “

The Thomson Report unequivocally stated that to ensure accountability, fairness, and public confidence in accreditation, all regulated professions needed to provide an independent appeals process. “In the absence of an independent appeals tribunal, the recourse IEPs have when they are rejected by regulatory bodies is to go to court — a very expensive procedure, and very risky for people who are already low on funds.”

“But Bill 124 failed to establish such independent tribunals. Instead of passing my amendment on independent appeals, the Liberals passed their amendment to study, again, the topic of independent appeals. Passing such a clause after commissioning and receiving the Thomson Report comes across clumsy attempt to distract from how they are backtracking.”

Tabuns did succeed in getting legislative committee to fill a major loophole in Bill 124 so that it actually applies to regulated professions. ”Professions need to be named in the act for it to apply to them. Bill 124 in its original form did not do that, an omission that left unfixed would have rendered the act ineffective,” explains Tabuns. Tabuns saw the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills adopt this recommendation when reviewing Bill 124 late last week.

BACKGROUNDER

Ontario Hansard – 18-October2004

Ms Kathleen O. Wynne (Don Valley West): My question is for the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. It’s certainly not a secret to anyone in this House that providing access to professions and trades for internationally trained professionals is vital to our workforce and our economy. Since we formed government, I know we’ve done substantial work on working with Ontario’s regulatory bodies and by providing several bridge training programs to provide our internationally trained with Canadian work experience.

But about 70% of the residents of the neighbourhoods of Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park in my riding are recent immigrants to Canada. Many of them received approval for their applications to immigrate to Canada specifically because of the points they got for their professional credentials, but when they got here, they discovered that their credentials aren’t the ones Canada’s regulatory bodies accept. More than that, they’re frustrated by the fact that the process to appeal an accreditation decision by a regulatory body varies widely among the professions and trades, with no common standard.

Minister, could you talk about what steps our government is taking to address this issue?

Hon Mary Anne V. Chambers (Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities): We are closely committed to improving the access of internationally trained individuals to professions and trades in Ontario. With regard to the process for accreditation and licensure, many refer to that process as being confusing and arbitrary.

I do want to say that I’ve been working with the regulators over the past several months, and many of them are making really good progress. But it is a fact that the processes vary greatly from one regulatory body to another. Very recently I appointed former Ontario Justice George Thomson to review all these processes and the appeals opportunities that go along with these processes. I have asked him to recommend to me an appropriate process for independent appeals.