Report on Implementation of the Labour Mobility Chapter of the Agreement on Internal Trade - July 2001

July 1, 2001

Regulatory bodies have worked to meet the July 1, 2001 deadline for compliance with the Labour Mobility Chapter, and have made significant progress. While Quebec regulators were not bound by the July 1 deadline, they worked on a voluntary basis to reconcile differences in occupational standards and achieve mutual recognition of occupational qualifications.

Regulators have had the opportunity to meet on a national basis—many for the first time—to cooperatively work toward the common goal of improved labour mobility. In doing so, they have increased their understanding of the ways in which their occupations are similar or different across the country; identified barriers to worker mobility; and taken significant steps toward eliminating barriers and accommodating each other's members.

As of the July 1, 2001 deadline, regulatory bodies representing 42 of the 51 regulated occupations had agreed or substantially agreed on conditions under which mobility will be facilitated (usually documented in the form of a mutual recognition agreement). The remaining nine regulated occupations have complex issues to resolve in order to meet their Chapter 7 obligations on a national level. The issues these occupations continue to deal with include differences with respect to scope of practice, educational requirements, initial assessment of workers, continuing competence, recognition of foreign credentials, and the recognition of workers who have been licensed under a grandparenting clause.

In many cases, regulatory bodies worked extremely hard and faced significant challenges in order to meet their Chapter 7 obligations. Given that they are charged with protecting the public, some regulators had to do a delicate balancing act to achieve both public protection and labour mobility, particularly for occupations with varying scopes of practice and different educational standards. Governments have had to take their own necessary steps to meet the July 1, 2001 deadline for compliance with the Labour Mobility Chapter. In most jurisdictions, this has required—or will yet require—changes to the legislation governing specific occupations:

Some jurisdictions have already made legislative or regulatory changes in order to eliminate barriers to facilitating labour mobility;
Some may not need to pass new legislation;
Some have been affected by the schedule of House sittings;
Some need to consider the type of legislative change needed in a broader policy context;
Some jurisdictions are waiting for the MRAs to be completed and ratified and have to wait for regulatory bodies themselves to propose legislative change ancillary to AIT; and
Others are reviewing current legislation to enable regulatory bodies to recognize equivalencies in standards and qualifications.

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