Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Immigrants' credentials to be vetted overseas

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced plans to hire an outside company to assess the educational credentials of newcomers before they arrive in Canada in a bid to keep foreign physicians from having to drive cabs after they arrive.

On the eve of an anticipated austerity budget, Kenney said the government would issue a request for proposals within the next two months in the hopes of selecting a thirdparty organization that could begin conducting these overseas assessments by the end of the year.

"The overall goal here is to better select and better support potential immigrants before they come to Canada so they can hit the ground running once they arrive by integrating quickly into our labour market," he told a business audience of professional regulators Wednesday.

"Once this process is in place, we think this will result in a significant improvement in the points grid system we use to assess applicants to the foreign skilled worker program."

Kenney said the idea was to "be more up front and honest" with would-be newcomers by giving them a sense of how their credentials stack up against someone with a similar Canadian education.

It would also help screen out those without adequate levels of education.

In other words, simply having a degree in a particular field would no longer be enough to garner an individual points toward acceptance as a skilled worker.

The pre-arrival assessment does not guarantee applicants will find work in Canada commensurate with their skills, nor does it guarantee they will become licensed in their field.

That lies with the professional regulatory bodies in the jurisdiction in which the individual intends to settle, and that, Kenney suggested, was another problem.

In many ways, credential recognition is a provincial responsibility, outside of Citizenship and Immigration's jurisdiction, he said. Kenney also cited the case of an Iranian couple - a radiologist and orthopedic surgeon - who had struggled to get their skills recognized and had resolved to return to Iran.

He suggested some regulatory bodies had been overly protectionist and ought to "do a lot more" to streamline their processes.

Original Article
Source: ottawa citizen
Author: Tobi Cohen

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