Speaking Notes

The Honourable Joe Volpe, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, at the launch of the Internationally Trained Workers Initiative (ITWI)

Toronto, Ontario, April 25, 2005

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Good morning and a very big thank you. It’s a pleasure to be here. Today marks yet another step forward in the Government of Canada’s commitment to ensuring that the newcomers we bring to this country can fully participate in every aspect of Canadian society.

It also represents another step forward in our work to ensure all Canadians can fully participate in our national growth by finding work commensurate with their skills and experience. Such efforts will help us build a more globally competitive and sustainable economy. They will also strengthen us as a society and enrich us as nation.

I’m especially pleased to be here with my colleague the Hon. Lucienne Robillard; and to note that my Parliamentary Secretary, the Hon. Dr. Hedy Fry, is at this time holding a similar press conference in Vancouver with the Hon. Ujjal Dosanjh and the Hon. Raymond Chan. So let me extend a very warm welcome to each and every one of you here this morning.

Today the Government of Canada is officially launching the Internationally Trained Workers Initiative (ITWI) which is aimed at accelerating the entry of immigrants and foreign trained Canadians into the Canadian labour market in jobs that make full use of their skills and experience. It includes working on foreign credentials assessment and recognition, delivering advanced job specific language training, and providing better information and tools to immigrants before they come to Canada.

Today’s announcement is about breaking down many of the barriers foreign trained Canadians and newcomers face to full labour market participation and about securing Canada’s future. Barriers to labour market participation rob us all. They rob newcomers themselves of the chance to help further strengthen this country economically, culturally, and socially. They rob Canadian businesses of new markets or skills they need to be more competitive. They also rob Canadian citizens of economic and social growth opportunities. So the issue affects us all, and it requires an integrated and coordinated approach.

Language proficiency is an important element facilitating the full participation of immigrants to the job market. That’s why Citizenship and Immigration Canada is working very hard with provinces and territories and other partners and stakeholders to develop and deliver innovative programs such as targeted labour market language training projects on a cost-sharing basis.

CIC is now investing $20 million annually to help up to 20,000 new immigrants a year across Canada in need of job specific language skills. This is in addition to the $140 million a year it invests for the delivery of basic language training for immigrants outside of Canada.

But this is only one piece of the puzzle. Many newcomers bring with them the skills and the knowledge that businesses will need to stay ahead although their capabilities are not widely understood. The Government of Canada has therefore allocated $68 million over six years to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada to work with provinces and territories, regulatory bodies, sector councils and others to help develop better procedures for assessing and recognizing foreign credentials that are consistent, transparent, fair, accessible, and rigorous.

These funds will also be allocated to help the Government of Canada better inform employers of the benefits of hiring internationally trained Canadians and skilled immigrants.

Newcomers also need to know what they can expect before they arrive in Canada. They need to have a realistic view of their new life, including labour market access issues. And we need to get this information into their hands quickly and easily before they depart.

So the Government of Canada is investing in the development of an online immigration portal in collaboration with provinces and territories, that will provide newcomers with reliable and current information before they come to Canada, as well as tools to facilitate their integration into the Canadian labour market and society.

The Government of Canada is also investing $75 million over five years to accelerate and expand the assessment and integration of internationally trained health-care professionals. Minister Dosanjh is speaking more about this in Vancouver today.

The Government of Canada’s new investment of $298 million over five years to enhance settlement and integration programs will also support the Internationally Trained Workers Initiative by helping newcomers integrate more quickly into Canadian society and our labour market.

I’m very proud of all these initiatives and confident that we can continue to build a truly welcoming and inclusive society by working together with every level of government, as well as with all our partners and stakeholders to find ways to better integrate newcomers into the Canadian economy and society.

Newcomers bring ideas, skills, and talents to help fuel the growth of Canada’s economy into the 21^st century. Most come with the level of education that Canadian businesses will need to compete effectively in the knowledge-based economy or with skills needed in professions such as medicine.

The ability to attract skilled workers will be especially important to Canada’s economic future given the country’s ageing population and low birth rates. And it will be as equally important to professions such as healthcare, given the current shortage of doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners in almost every region of Canada.

But we need to do much more than simply open our doors to people from around the world.

I think today’s announcement represents another important step towards finding solutions that will help to put us well on the road to achieving the results that all Canadians need and want from our immigration program.

I am therefore very pleased to give the floor to the Minister of Human Resources and Development Canada, who will talk to you more about some of our accomplishments, and more importantly outline some new initiatives.

Thank you.