On October 23rd, a new bill was introduced to attract skilled workers by fast-tracking professional immigrants. The bill was introduced by David Eby & Andrew Mercier. It emphasized on the fact that immigrants in BC must put their skills to work in the province.
The aim of this bill is to attract foreign skilled workers by fast-tracking professional immigrants while strengthening the province’s economy.
The ‘General Responsibilities’ given in the bill include establishing & implementing an international credential assessment process which is fair, efficient, & transparent.
If successfully passed, the bill will need regulatory bodies to remove barriers in over 29 professions. As a result, this will make it easier for qualified professional immigrants to seek credential recognition, irrespective of where they acquired their training.
Moreover, those 29 occupations include lawyers, social workers, paramedics, engineers, engineers & childhood educators.
In addition, the legislation will also remove redundant language testing. If the candidate has already submitted valid language testing results, a regulatory body will not be allowed to impose submitting the new language testing results.
Furthermore, there will be caps for maximum processing times & a guarantee that a determination will be made regarding an application within a reasonable time. Notably, communication regarding determinations made in an international credential assessment must be given to the candidate within 14 days. Also, the bill needs credential-assessment data in order to be available online.
Eby stated that they have numerous unfair processes which force immigrants in British Columbia to go through expensive, & repetitive processes. Well, these processes are frustrating & cause individuals to give up & work in a field they aren’t trained in.
In addition, they further stated that artificial barriers working in their fields prevent immigrants from contributing to help build the province to the full extent of their abilities.
Eby further promised to admit & speed up the employment process for professional immigrants with foreign training. Moreover, if the bill is successfully passed, it will come into force in the summer of 2024. Also, a new superintendent will be appointed & responsible for promoting fair credential recognition.