ManitobaLabour and Immigration Minister Nancy Allan recently appointed Ximena Munoz as the province's first Fairness Commissioner responsible for improving qualifications recognition for skilled immigrants in Manitoba and forimplementing the Fair Registration Practices in Regulated Professions Act.

The act, passed last year, calls for the appointment of a fairness commissioner to ensure that regulated professions are governed by transparent,objective, and fair registration and management processes.

Munoz is herself a Canadian immigrant originating from Chile. She has spent the past twenty years working to improve settlement and labour market servicesfor Canadian immigrants. As the director of the Manitoba Settlement and Labour Market Services Branch, she established Manitoba's Settlement Strategy andhas worked with other provincial departments and with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).

"We are delighted to welcome Ms. Munoz as the first fairness commissioner in Manitoba. Her experience and commitment to qualifications recognition willundoubtedly be an asset to helping immigrants and individuals from out of province establish successful careers in Manitoba," said Minister Allan.

Among Munoz's first responsibilities is the establishment of an Office of the Fairness Commissioner and working with professional regulators to developimplementation strategy for the new act.