The following in an excerpt from an opinion piece published in the Vancouver Sun, Feb 21 2024.
B.C.’s International Credentials Recognition Act removes barriers to skilled immigrants in 29 regulated professions. We can, and should, build on this.
Authors: Fiona Famulak, Patrick MacKenzie
It has been an unfairly long-standing challenge for skilled immigrants to B.C. and Canada that their foreign credentials all too often go unrecognized. This has held them back from making their full contribution to our economy and building wealth.
For decades, Canada’s immigration system has selected immigrants by prioritizing those who are the most skilled. To deny so many the chance to put those skills into practice has been a waste of their talent and a missed opportunity to make our immigration system even more successful.
That’s why it has been very encouraging to recently see B.C.’s International Credentials Recognition Act that removes barriers to skilled immigrants finding work in 29 regulated professions like engineering, social work, architecture, accounting or veterinary practice.
We can, and should, build on this.
The B.C. Chamber of Commerce has remarked that the act still excludes health care and trades professionals, who are desperately needed in every B.C. community. So, while work in these sectors has been advanced through other recent legislative changes and programs, the provincial government should continue to prioritize these professions and urgently reduce the significant barriers faced by professionals in these sectors.
Read the entire opinion piece in the Vancouver Sun.