By Ratna Omidvar

We can’t keep asking new arrivals to sacrifice short-term reward in the interests of future generations

When I arrived in Canada with my family in June of 1982, we were eager to continue our careers in our new country. Instead, we had to reinvent ourselves. Canada was in a recession – and we were in survival jobs. Despite our struggles, after two years, we bought a house; after five, we became citizens; after 10 years, we sponsored my brother and his family to come to Canada. Gradually, I became more involved in local political and civil society organizations.

Today, both my daughters are university graduates, and my nephew serves in the Canadian Forces.

Our story is not unusual. The hundreds of thousands of immigrants who arrive in Canada each year could all tell variations of this story. It’s a kind of “Canadian dream” – that the suffering of the first generation will be worth it because of the success of the next. Yet, the question I sometimes ask myself is: Does it have to be this way? Shouldn’t both immigrants and Canada win in the short and the long term?

While recent immigrants are more highly educated than previous cohorts and the Canadian-born, they earn lower wages and have more difficulties entering the labour market in the first place. The number of new immigrants to Canada with a bachelor’s degree is equivalent to the total annual number of undergraduate degrees awarded by Ontario universities, yet Canada has not leveraged this talent into innovation and productivity.

Instead, immigrants to Canada are unemployed and underemployed. About 65 per cent who arrived in the 1990s experienced a low income period, and about one-fifth had chronic low incomes. In the most recent recession, immigrants accounted for essentially all net job losses in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto. Many of the newly unemployed were immigrants who had taken jobs in the manufacturing sector because their skills and experience were not recognized. They now find themselves even further from their original career goals.

It’s clear that the country can do better.

Research has shown that language is the most important indicator of labour market success in Canada. The federal government’s recent announcement that it will test the language ability of the principal applicants in the skilled worker class is a welcome development. But the government must go further: It should immediately abolish the occupation list, an inflexible tool in a flexible and dynamic economy, and invest in technology that will allow employers to search a database of applicants, creating direct links between future permanent residents and job opportunities.

Canada also should provide more points for young people and fewer for work experience. According to research by Naomi Alboim, Ross Finnie and Ronald Meng published by the Institute for Research on Public Policy, work experience is discounted by a factor of almost 70 per cent by employers in Canada’s labour market. To continue to allot points for international work experience is disingenuous at best. Younger people, even those with little work experience, have long careers ahead of them to contribute to the Canadian economy.

Canada cannot continue to ask immigrants to sacrifice their short-term success in the interests of future generations. The impact of this lost productivity on our collective prosperity cannot be overstated. As the country begins to climb out of the recession, the government needs to engage Canadians, both new and old, and begin a discussion on our future and our immigration program.

Ratna Omidvar is the author of Canada’s Immigration Score: Recommendations for a Win-Win, published in the July-August issue of Policy Options (www.irpp.org).

Originally published on August 4, 2010, as an op-ed in the Globe and Mail.

Maytree Opinion, May 2010
By Alan Broadbent and Ratna Omidvar

PDF version.

In the last few years the Ontario government has made strong commitments to making Ontario a more welcoming place for skilled immigrants, in particular by investing resources in bridging programs, establishing a Fairness Commission and negotiating a better deal with the federal government for immigrants to Ontario – all promising signs.

But while these commitments receive public attention and approval, this same government passes legislation that re-enacts old barriers, dating back to before the last World War. On May 13, 2010, Bill 158 – an Act to review and update the statutes governing the accounting professions in Ontario – passed third reading. In essence, the Bill was an opportunity to modernize the profession. Sadly, the opportunity was lost and instead restrictions on how international accounting credentials can be used were re-enacted. Only the fine was updated to modern times, creating a $10,000 fine for anyone using any portion of the initials CA (chartered accountant), CMA (certified management accountant) or CGA (certified general accountant).

Does the right hand know what the left is doing? It seems it does not.

While Bill 158 was intended to increase transparency and accountability for the profession, it effectively re-affirms the barrier to internationally trained accountants, and prevents them from listing their professional credentials. In practical terms, it means that if the Finance Director from the Bank of England were to come to Ontario to work, he would not be permitted to show the letters CA after his name to show that he was a chartered accountant. He could only do so after completing the various requirements in Ontario. Perhaps he could just go back to school and start over, so that there would be no confusion?

Internationally-trained CGAs, CAs and CMAs are all affected by what is essentially a cartel. Although the Act does not prevent them from practicing their profession, they are unable to market themselves to employers or as entrepreneurs. Their hands are tied, and their opportunities limited.

There is a reasonable compromise. The Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) put forward an effective option to the Justice Committee. It suggested the Act allow the use of international designations under any circumstance, provided that the issuing jurisdiction is clearly indicated in brackets following the designation, e.g., ACMA (UK), ACCA (UK) or ACA (India). This option would enable consumers and businesses to identify the international skills and experience that may be needed to reach new markets, and build Ontario’s prosperity. Unfortunately this suggestion was not heard.

It seems clear that the Ontario Government must amend or withdraw Bill 158, or risk losing credibility on their platform commitment to including immigrants in the Ontario economy, as well as their ambitions of an Open Ontario. It is time to have the right hand and the left hand working together.

Local leaders in cities across Canada take action to integrate skilled newcomers into the workplace to ensure future prosperity in our cities and communities.

TORONTO, May 4, 2010 - Urban centres in Canada welcome hundreds of skilled immigrants, whose education and training can significantly enrich their communities. On May 6th and 7th, 175 delegates from urban communities across Canada will meet in Halifax at the 2010 ALLIES Learning Exchange to share and discuss practical and successful solutions for immigrant employment that can be adapted to other cities.

“Through ALLIES, we are proud to be building a pan-Canadian project that is connecting employers across the country and leveraging their capacity to tap into the talents of skilled immigrants,” said Ratna Omidvar, President of Maytree.

In Halifax, the Connector program has opened professional networks to over 100 skilled newcomers in the past year. In Edmonton recent immigrants are matched to professionals in their field through mentoring. In Montreal, employers are sharing their best practices on the recruitment and retention of skilled workers through round tables. In Calgary, an immigrant employment council is bringing employers and immigrant agencies together for a coordinated approach to mentoring. In Toronto, employers who actively embrace newcomers are recognised in a yearly award ceremony. Across the country, online videos and roadmaps guide employers to recruit diverse employees through hireimmigrants.ca.

The ALLIES 2010 Learning Exchange is a catalyst for sharing ideas, connecting with others, and inspiring action from the participants from 12 cities across Canada. Funded by the Government of Canada and hosted by ALLIES, a joint project of Maytree and the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, the 2010 Learning Exchange will allow delegates to learn how to engage employers, set up successful and sustainable programs, and work with all levels of government.

By 2011, we will rely 100% on immigrants for our net labour market growth. Proactive local action is key to ensuring that the integration of this new labour force is as seamless as possible.

Details on the 2010 Learning Exchange can be found at http://www.maytree.com/integration/allies/allies-events/2010-learning-exchange.

ALLIES (Assisting Local Leaders with Immigrant Employment Strategies) is a five-year project jointly funded by Maytree (www.maytree.com) and the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation (www.mcconnellfoundation.ca). ALLIES provides the information, learning and funding required by communities to adapt and implement successful immigrant employment approaches used by multi-stakeholder initiatives across the country. The project brings local players together to develop their own practical solutions for the integration of skilled immigrants into the labour market.

For further information:

Valeisha Sobhee
Coordinator of Programs, ALLIES, Maytree,
Email: vsobhee@maytree.com
Phone: (416) 944-8915 ext. 351,
Cell (May 5th-7th only): (902) 412-7550