It will soon be easier for workers from Quebec and France to go live and work in each others' jurisdictions. A new manpower mobility agreement, signed by Quebec Premier Jean Charest and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, will deregulate a dozen professions and almost as many trades in both France and Quebec so that foreign job applicants can be fast-tracked into the labour market. Both governments have agreed to accept the equivalence of each others' degrees and training certificates for certain occupations.

French professionals such as doctors, dentists, and lawyers will have better access to the Quebec labour market, along with tradespeople such as painters, heavy equipment operators, and brick-layers. The same will apply for Quebec residents who wish to work in France. The list of eligible occupations is expected to climb to 100 by the end of 2010.

The arrangement will reduce wait times from 18 months (or even as much as three years for certain occupations) to only a few weeks after medical and criminal checks have been completed.

Workers can either work for a few years and then head home, or apply for citizenship if they decide to stay.

The Quebec government hopes that the arrangement will help minimize labour shortage predictions in the coming years. The province will need 700,000 more workers between now and 2010.

It expects that this agreement could serve as a model for a similar deal with other European countries, if Canada and the European Union reach a trans-Atlantic Trade deal. North African countries have also shown interest in a similar labour mobility agreement.