‘First step’ toward signing of Memo of Understanding – Congen Castro

‘First step’ toward signing of Memo of Understanding – Congen Castro

Philippine Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello

Philippines, Ontario labour officials meet to improve immigration and employment of OFWs, credentialization

By Mila Astorga-Garcia
The Philippine Reporter

TORONTO – The Philippine Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello recently met with Ontario Minister of Labour Monte McNaughton to discuss plans on how to improve immigration and employment of Filipinos in the province of Ontario in particular, and in Canada in general.

The meeting resulted in a Joint Communique signed by Bello and McNaughton, which recognizes strong bilateral relations between the governments in the areas of employment and immigration.

It also resulted in discussions on how to make it easier for Philippine-trained professionals to practice in Ontario.

Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton

The signing was held March 13, 2022 in the Legislative Building at Queen’s Park, Toronto. Accompanying Bello were the Philippine Ambassador to Canada Rodolfo D. Robles, Toronto Consul General Orontes V. Castro and other consular and labour attaché officials.

The meeting was actually a continuation of a working process toward reaching a Memorandum of Understanding between the two governments for better cooperation on employment and immigration issues.

The Joint Communique is considered a first step “toward reaching the possibility of signing a Memorandum of Understanding” Consul General Castro told The Philippine Reporter during a recent phone interview about the significance of the signed document.

After the signing, a round table discussion followed, particularly on the issue of recognition of Philippine-trained professionals. In attendance were representatives from different Filipino professional associations, among them, the nursing, accounting, teaching, and engineering organizations advocating for credentalizations. Aside from issues affecting professionals, the meeting also centred on Filipino workers, specifically those in the Ontario immigration program that nominates Filipino workers, Castro said.

While appreciation was expressed at the meeting for the Ontario government’s Bill 27 or Working for Workers Act passed in 2021, it was also pointed out that while the requirement for Canadian experience was taken out from the previous employment laws by the Act, it did not include health workers.

Philippine Ambassador to Canada Rodolfo D. Robles

Meanwhile, in an outside development related to the Bill 27 issue, a private members’ bill was tabled by Ontario’s official opposition, the New Democratic Party, to help internationally trained professionals to break down barriers preventing them from practicing their profession. Its purpose, among others, was to fill “the gap that was not in the (Conservatives’) Bill (27),” according to Doly Begum, MPP for Scarborough Southwest who introduced the bill in the Ontario legislature. (See story, “Integration of internationally-trained professionals,” The Philippine Reporter, March 25 to April 7, 2022 story by Veronica Silva Cusi, page 17.)

For advocates of credentialization in general, this exemption was important to note as the majority of the affected sector are Filipino nurses, many of them working as caregivers and personal support workers.
Castro informed The Philippine Reporter that there were already improvements with some changes instituted in the nursing sector.

For example, Castro states: “If you are a caregiver and you come here and pass all the requirements under the College of Nurses in Ontario, you do not have to go back to practice in the Philippines to acquire the needed experience, but you can practice here under the supervision of an accredited member of the College of Nurses of Ontario,”called the safe practice standard.

Toronto Consul General Orontes Castro

After completing the requirements, you can be accredited and acquire your license, but only after you become a permanent resident, Castro says.

He reveals that out of 26 caregivers who have completed the College of Nursing requirements, six or seven had acquired their license upon receiving their permanent residency status.

(The Philippine Reporter will continue to follow up on this story by interviewing the Integrated Filipino Canadian Nursing Association and other professional associations on the significance of current joint initiatives between the Philippine government and the Ontario government towards improving their immigration and employment status.)