Over 60 per cent of new immigrants to Canada each year choose to live and work in the province of Ontario. Recently a series of steps have been taken toensure that professionals who received their training outside of Canada can work in their fields.

In May the Government of Canada announced the creation of the Foreign Credentials Referral Office, a service center that will have over 300 locations across Canada and more around the world. Since that announcement, two recent developments haveoccurred in Ontario which should help bring down barriers for foreign-trained professionals who wish to work in the province.

Teaching is the first profession to be affected in Ontario. Building on the existing Teach in Ontario project, Ontario’s Ministry of Citizenship andImmigration announced a new bridging program for internationally-trained teachers. The program extends beyond training about the educational environment inOntario to help recently-arrived teachers to find work in Ontario .

Brian McGowan of the Ontario College of Teachers said that his organization welcomes any initiative to help bring internationally-educated professionals into Ontario’s education system, saying "they bring new ideas, a fresh perspective, often years of teaching experience, and the cultural and language diversity that characterizes a significant part of our student population.”

Another profession that received welcome news in Ontario is engineering. In recognition of efforts to remove barriers for foreign-trained professionals towork in Ontario, Professional Engineers Ontario (the industry’s regulatory association) is waiving the $230 fee for all new immigrants applying for theirengineering license within 6 months of arriving in Canada. In addition, foreign-trained engineers may now register in the Engineering Intern Program forthe first year at no cost.

To work in certain professions in Ontario, individuals must obtain certification from regulatory associations. Ontario has taken the lead among Canadianprovinces in removing obstacles for foreign-trained professionals, most notably by passing the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, which became lawearlier this year.

Sources: Canadian Immigrant Magazine; Citizenship and Immigration Ontario