Or is it inimical to Canadians, and to Canada?

The Federal government seems to think it is hurting us. The Provincial governments agree. So do independent international agencies - Canada even scored the maximum six out of six as the place with the most regulatory barriers to foreign skilled professionals, as rated by the OECD (Organization for Economy Cooperation and Development).

"We really have a problem here," acknowledged Andrew Sharpe of the Centre for the Study of Living Standards.

Even the regulators agree - or appear to. But their action, or lack thereof - or even the kind of active dilatory tactics some are claimed to have indulged in - speak louder than words, complain newcomers. The net result is that for decades, nothing has moved on the ground.

"Immigration awards us 10 points when assessing our suitability for the Canadian jobs market, then when we come here there are no jobs for us," complained Saeed Ziaee, president, Cape, a Canada-wide organization with a pan-Canada membership of 2,500 globally qualified engineers.

Against this background - and as pressure builds against the watchdog door-keepers to stop hurting the public interests - the country's top leadership, led by the Federal and the Provincial governments, are sending an unquivocal message to the country's 400-plus watchdog agencies: Play ball... or else!

This week Diane Finley, Canada's Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, was joined by her Cabinet colleague Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, and their provincial counterpart Michael Chan, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to announce professionals educated abroad would henceforth have their academic credentials evaluated within a year.

A year?!

But even this has been accorded a warm welcome. "Did you feel the mountain move?" smiled a foreign-trained doctor driving - what else - a cab. But he seemed encouraged by the news.

Under the new Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications, foreign-trained workers who submit an application to be licensed or registered to work in certain fields will be advised within one year whether their qualifications will be recognized.

Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Co-Chair of the Forum of Labour Market Ministers, and Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, this week endorsed a new framework to enhance foreign qualification recognition for internationally trained workers.

The Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications is part of the Government of Canada's strategy to have the best educated, most skilled and most flexible workforce in the world.

Recognizing foreign credentials is part of the strategy, and foreign qualification recognition is the process of verifying that knowledge, skills, work experience and education obtained in another country are comparable to the standards established for Canadian professionals and tradespersons.

"Attracting and retaining the best international talent to address existing and future labour market challenges is critical to Canada's long-term economic success," said Finley. "Ensuring foreign credentials and qualifications are assessed and recognized in a timely manner will enable newcomers to maximize their talents."

Finley and Kenney thanked the Forum of Labour Market Ministers, consisting of federal, provincial and territorial representatives, for its work on the Framework.

"This framework is another important step in paving the road to success for Ontario's newcomers," said Michael Chan, Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

The Framework follows the Government of Canada's commitment in the 2008 Speech from the Throne to "work with the provinces to make the recognition of foreign credentials a priority, attract top international students to Canada and increase the uptake of immigrant settlement programs".

The Framework states governments across Canada will work towards better pre-arrival services, assessments that are fair, transparent, consistent and timely across Canada, and improved workforce participation services for newcomers. These services will help internationally trained workers put their training and knowledge to work sooner. "We want newcomers to be able to use their skills and work to their full potential," Kenney said. "It's good for them and good for the Canadian economy."

Studies have estimated the failure to recognize international credentials of potential workers costs the Canadian economy $2.4 billion to $15 billion a year.

Engineers, nurses in first batch

- The objective of the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications is to articulate a new joint national vision, guiding principles and desired outcomes for improving the assessment and recognition of newcomers' qualifications.

- The framework will initially be implemented in the following eight occupations by Dec 31, 2010: architects, engineers, financial auditors and accountants, medical laboratory technologists, occupational therapists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, and registered nurses.

- During the next phase of implementation ending Dec 2012, the framework will be implemented in the following six occupations: dentists, engineering technicians, licensed practical nurses, medical radiation technologists, physicians, and teachers (K-12).

- Governments will work with regulatory bodies, post-secondary institutions and other key partners to implement the framework.

Cautious welcome

The framework was accorded a cautious welcome. Deepak Vohra of engineers' advocacy Cape welcomed the move to hasten the  recognition of the credentials of foreign-trained professionals, while pointing out: "This will only remove the glaring anomaly from the fact that the same credentials the CIC had used in choosing its 'economic class' of immigrants, ie, Canada's most skilled workforce, are put in question, once those who earned them land in Canada.

"We at Cape are not yet fully aware of the terms of the agreement, but if the goal is ultimately to improve skilled immigrants' prospects of making meaningful contribution to the Canadian society and workforce, there are several other holes that need to be plugged," he pointed out.

Vohra added a "joint national vision" would facilitate inter-provincial mobility for engineers.

At present Cape estimates immigration to Canada results in outright downward mobility for almost 85 per cent of the newcomer engineers.

Hope for engineers

Cape, the Council for Access to the Profession of Engineering, has meanwhile launched a human resources online engine - Engineers360 - a "no scanning no resume" tool, currently being piloted under the Leveraging Global Engineering Skills (LGES) project funded by the Ministry of Training, College and Universities.

For details, and to see how you can help yourself, visit www.capeinfo.ca