Mississauga welcomes bill that would make it easier for newcomers to get jobs in their fields

“Bold action” being taken by Ontario to make it easier for foreign-trained professionals and tradespeople to find work here in their chosen fields is welcome news, says Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, noting it will help businesses recover financially from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Mississauga is a city that has been built and strengthened by newcomers, so naturally we welcome this (proposed) legislation,” Crombie said of the government bill that, ideally, will help ease a province-wide labour shortage by removing job barriers faced by newcomers. 

Crombie added eliminating the requirement for prior Canadian work experience is the most notable of the Ontario government’s efforts to remove barriers. 

“This requirement has been impractical and unrealistic, and removing it will allow talented newcomers to begin working in their fields very quickly, even immediately,” continued Crombie. “We are also facing labour shortages across the province, and in Mississauga, and I believe this legislation will help employers find workers faster and will also help with our economic recovery.” 

Labour Minister Monte McNaughton will table the bill, and the government hopes to have the legislation passed before the end of the year. However, it could take as long as two years to implement the changes. 

New immigrants are faced with the barrier of a requirement for Canadian work experience, which they must demonstrate when trying to get licensed in such fields as law, accounting, architecture, engineering, electrical and plumbing. 

McNaughton said the proposed changes would apply to some skilled trades and regulated professions outside of the healthcare sector. 

He noted the legislation is the first of its kind in the country, further describing it as “a bold action really just to knock down these barriers and to speed up the process so immigrants can use their talent here in Ontario and ultimately earn bigger paychecks for themselves and their families.” 

Some 293,000 jobs are going unfilled in Ontario and the workforce is aging, McNaughton added.  

According to the government, only one-quarter of foreign-trained immigrants in regulated professions were working in jobs that matched their qualification levels in Ontario in 2016.