Making Canadian citizenship matter

[Edward Campbell]

Plus different fields have and need different standards. I, for example, am quite happy that the Government of Canada, as an employer, treats a PhD in physics from a Chinese university as being in every way equivalent to a PhD in physics from a Canadian university;* I am equally happy that the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons requires MDs from China to compete some further training in some areas before they can practice here - and I say that as someone who is very satisfied with the medical treatment received in China just a couple of years ago. I also agree that foreign trained lawyers, depending upon where they were educated/trained, will need a little more (maybe, mostly, just Constitutional law) or a whole lot more training before they can write the bar exams here. The issue is sensible, evidence based fairness in assessing qualifications, not equality.

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* They did, in any event, to my certain, personal knowledge, in the late 1990s.

 

[observor 69]

From my experience talking with immigrant doctors in the GTA; the hoops they have to go through to acquire a license are so arduous financially and in time/years  that they don't  have the resources.
Hence working at unskilled jobs to feed their family.

 

[GAP]

One more nail in the illegal immigrant coffin.....

Ont. should end easy welfare for refugee claimants: Feds
By Daniel Proussalidis, Parliamentary Bureau
Article Link

OTTAWA - The feds are working on a same-day notification system so provincial governments know right away when someone has been removed from Canada and can quickly cut off welfare and other benefits, QMI Agency has learned.

A government source confirms the system is set for launch in the fall.

Currently, the feds send faxes to provincial authorities to inform them of someone's deportation - a process Immigration Minister Jason Kenney admits could be faster.

"We've identified gaps in the system, quite frankly, I think based on the fact that we've been using old technology," Kenney said Monday. "I've been in discussions, as have my officials, with the Ontario department of social services in particular for the past year or 18 months to improve communications."

Provincial governments blame slow info from the feds for their inability to stop sending welfare cheques to rejected refugee claimants, even months after they've been kicked out of the country.

The Canada Border Services Agency has found that's especially burdensome for Ontario, where thousands of dubious Roma - or Gypsy - refugee claimants from Hungary congregate yearly, qualifying for welfare as soon as they set foot in Canada.


Though 95% of their claims are ultimately rejected, abandoned or withdrawn, they still collect welfare benefits while their cases are processed.

Kenney said Ontario should impose a three-month waiting period for refugee claimants to qualify for welfare benefits.

"So, we've asked Ontario to review the eligibility rules for welfare," he said. "We don't think it's helpful to create a pull factor for false claims."

Ontario's ministry of community and social services doesn't like Kenney's idea.

"The ministry has concerns about the potential human rights implications of altering the current eligibility criteria," Charlotte Wilkinson said from the ministry's media management office.
More on link

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Plus different fields have and need different standards. I, for example, am quite happy that the Government of Canada, as an employer, treats a PhD in physics from a Chinese university as being in every way equivalent to a PhD in physics from a Canadian university;* I am equally happy that the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons requires MDs from China to compete some further training in some areas before they can practice here - and I say that as someone who is very satisfied with the medical treatment received in China just a couple of years ago. I also agree that foreign trained lawyers, depending upon where they were educated/trained, will need a little more (maybe, mostly, just Constitutional law) or a whole lot more training before they can write the bar exams here. The issue is sensible, evidence based fairness in assessing qualifications, not equality.

Let them take the bar exam once and if they fail, based on their score a training regime is set. My wife's degree was from the University of London which had an outreach program in Malaysia. All common law based stuff. She was required to take the tax law course, which was optional for the UBC students, but the textbook was written by the head of the Bar, pure coincidence of course.

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* They did, in any event, to my certain, personal knowledge, in the late 1990s.