Ontario’s NDP tables bill to help integration of internationally trained professionals

Ontario’s NDP tables bill to help integration of internationally trained professionals

NDP MPP Doly Begum,
Scarborough Southwest

March 21, 2022

By Veronica Silva Cusi

The Philippine Reporter

LJI Reporter

Ontario’s official opposition, the National Democratic Party (NDP), has tabled a private members’ bill aimed at helping international trained professionals (ITPs) break down the barriers that are preventing them from assimilating into the Canadian workforce in the profession that they trained for.

The Fairness for Ontario’s Internationally Trained Workers Act, or Bill 98, was introduced to the Ontario Legislature on March 9 by NDP Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Doly Begum of Scarborough Southwest. Begum is NDP Ontario’s critic for citizenship, foreign credentials, and immigration services appointed by NDP Leader Andrea Horwath in 2021.

In a press conference announcing the introduction of the bill, Begum and Horwath noted that the non-recognition of ITPs’ credentials and other barriers to getting jobs in Ontario have long been an issue that was further highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

“Unfortunately, for many years now the other two parties — both the Liberals and the Conservatives — when they were in government, have built a system that doesn’t work, and that system has been broken for a very long time, and what we’re saying is it can be fixed,” said Horwath.

She said the NDP proposal is a win-win for both the immigrant professionals and Ontarians. “We can not only make sure that they can practise … [in Ontario] but also that they can provide the kind of help and services that Ontarians need and deserve.”

Begum said the NDP has called on the provincial government to address these issues facing ITPs.

“Unfortunately, the bills that were brought forward by the government did not go far enough and missed out on a huge chunk of people, including healthcare workers,” she said.

One of these bills she was the Conservatives’ Bill 27, or Working for Workers Act, 2021, which received Royal Assent in December 2021.

“This [proposed members’ bill] is filling the gap that was not in the [Conservatives’] Bill [27],” said Begum in an interview with The Philippine Reporter after the press conference. “It [the NDP proposed bill] goes a bit further by looking at the issue of how we make sure they [ITPs] get into the workforce.”

The 2021 workers’ act has many provisions that amended many Ontario laws. Among its many aims is to break down barriers that limit foreign trained and educated from practising in regulated professions in the province. However, the law excludes regulated health care workers. In announcing the proposed legislation in October 2021, the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development said it will work with the Ministry of Health in the future for health professions.

Guest health care professionals who joined in the press conference attested to the struggles of ITPs in getting recognition and finding work in Ontario.

Dr. Sayeeda Yasmeen, who trained in Bangladesh, is an assistant professor of oncology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York. She said she crosses the border daily to work in Buffalo while she lives in Fort Erie, Ont. She expressed disappointment that she cannot serve her fellow Ontarians. However, she said she found it easier to get a residency and fellowship in New York more than in Ontario.

“It shouldn’t be so hard for internationally trained health care workers like me who want to help Ontarians. I broke down so many times in the face of all the negativity and lack of opportunity I experienced as I fought to get back into my chosen field, and I’m still not working in my home province,” said Dr. Yasmeen in an NDP press statement.

Begum said in the interview that the NDP proposal will look beyond the barriers covered in the new law, which addresses the requirements for Canadian work experience and proof of language proficiency.

“Canadian experience is one part of the requirement when ITPs look for jobs, … but they also face discrimination based on where they obtained their education or training, and their [foreign] accents,” said Begum.

Begum said the NDP is proposing two committees — Foreign Credential Recognition Advisory Committee and Internationally Trained and Educated Healthcare Professions Advisory Committee – to look into these barriers to entry.

The foreign credentials committee will make relevant recommendations to the labour minister on “certifying and recognizing the academic credentials of internationally educated immigrants with higher education degrees, including those in the Ontario

Immigrant Nominee Program.” It will be comprised of agencies that are working with ITPs, such as newcomer services agencies, and language agencies. Aside from looking into pathways for foreign academic credentials, the committee is also tasked to “ensuring fair and non-discriminatory hiring practices that do not single out applicants for having foreign degrees and other credentials.”

Tasked to set up the committee for healthcare professions is the Ministry of Health, according to the NDP bill. The committee is tasked with “developing provincially regulated practice-ready pathways” to help ITPs practise in the province. The committee is going to include members from regulatory bodies, unions and associations, ITP groups, and educational institutions.

Jennifer Lopez, president of Integrated Filipino Canadian Nursing Association (IFCNA), told The Philippine Reporter that while Queen’s Park have been taking time to address the barriers facing ITPs, “at least it [the NDP proposal] is an acknowledge that we [ITPs} have good contributions to the economy of Canada.”

She said she remains hopeful that policymakers make good use of data, such as the thousands of IENs badly needed in the province, and come up with a strategic plan for better patient services.

According to the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU), at the end 2020, there were 100,000 vacancies reported in in the health care and social assistance sector.

“They [policymakers] are too slow to respond to the nursing shortage and respond to the grater patient outcome,” said Lopez. “If they want to align patient safety in the health care system, they should act faster.”