| Newly-elected Canadian Government Promises Recognition of Skills of Foreign-trained Workers
Federal government elections took place in Canada on June 28, 2004. Canadians elected a Liberal “minority” government. Out of 308 parliament seats, the Liberal Party won 135 seats, the Conservative Party won 99, the Bloc Quebecois 54, the New Democratic Party 19, and one independent was elected.
In minority government, the parties aim to form coalitions when they agree on a particular issue. The policies that the majority of parties agree on are more likely to hold prominence in efforts to pass legislation and create new government programs.
The majority of the parties promised, in their election platforms, to make efforts to improve the recognition of the skills, experience and qualifications of workers that obtained their education and experience outside of Canada . This issue may be one of the priorities when the new government convenes in the House of Commons in the fall.
During the election campaign, Prime Minister Paul Martin promoted the Liberal government's commitment to enriching the lives of multicultural Canadians. He stated in an interview on the television network OMNI that "We are, in fact, one of the most successful countries in the world. We have people who come here from all over the world and we have tremendous social cohesion and a far-reaching identity as a result of that. I want to build on that."
He also said, "We've got to be much more open, much more transparent and much fairer, but we've also got to make sure these incredibly talented people don't waste their talents." In addition, the Liberal government plans to increase the number of immigration officers to address the backlog of people trying to enter Canada .
" Canada has traditionally said that they want one per cent of their population every year to be increased as a result of immigration. We've never hit that target, and I think we've got to get beyond it," the PM said. "We've got to be prepared to bring workers in here and allow them to establish themselves much more quickly. We've got to have better settlement programs than we have now."
Although the Conservative Party of Canada is traditionally in opposition to the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party also promised in its election platform to “improve recognition of foreign credentials and prior work experience for immigrants.”
The New Democratic Party, traditionally on the left of the political spectrum, would "build diversity by working with provinces and territories to respect the foreign qualifications of professionals".
While the Bloc Quebecois, the federal party that won the majority of seats in the province of Quebec , does not specifically mention foreign-trained workers in its platform, it did promise that it would implement measures to allow international students to work off-campus during their studies.
For now, foreign-trained workers can demonstrate on their resume that they have the equivalent of a Canadian education. This is possible by ordering the Credential Evaluation service through Canada US Employment. Clients receive an official document which outlines how their foreign educational degrees or diplomas compare to Canadian standards.
Sources: www.torontostar.com , www.liberal.ca , www.conservative.ca , www.blocquebecois.org , www.ndp.ca , www.chuckcadman-mp.com
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