by Medhi Rizvi
A physical or mental deficiency that prevents normal achievement is known as a disability. "Type I" congenital disability arises from defects during prenatal development. "Type II" occurs due to mental, physical or emotional stress in childhood. Now we observe a new type of disability, as yet barely acknowledged. Newly arrived qualified immigrants in Canada– accountants, chemists, doctors, engineers, scientists and other professionals – suffer from this disability, despite having passed rigorous medical examination before receiving immigrant visas. It is not a genetic disorder or a contagious disease: The growing feelings of unacceptability, increasing mental stress, alarming financial pressures, repeated rejections of academic qualifications, and failures to find a career-oriented job are the causes behind it. We can call it "professional disability." It kills self-confidence, inducing an inner feeling of worthlessness. A petroleum chemist ends up working at a gas station instead of an oil refinery. A child is embarrassed when asked about what his parents do for a living: How do we measure the pressure exerted on this young developing mind?
According to a Statistics Canada report in 2006, 36 per cent of immigrants aged 25 to 54 years had at least a bachelor's degree, compared with 22 per cent among native-born Canadians. But the unemployment rate is 11.4 per cent among immigrants and only 2.9 per cent among native-born Canadians with the same qualifications. What steps are we taking to face this challenge, or do we simply not care? The Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, 2006, which is aimed at helping immigrants find jobs within 34 regulated professions, became law in March 2007. The act requires Ontario regulators to have a quicker, fairer and more open process of recognizing foreign credentials. It is a step forward but needs a little acceleration. Immigrants are granted residency or citizenship by the federal government based on their expertise, but provincial regulatory bodies close the door on them. Regulatory bodies appear unwilling to hand over the recognition of credentials to Ottawa, leaving immigrants caught between a rock and a hard place.
We should agree on a national standard for the recognition of credentials to end the friction between the federal government and provincial regulatory bodies. The Federal Credentials Referral Office should be given an additional responsibility to advise prospective immigrants to obtain recognition and equivalence of credentials before a resident visa is granted. The professionally disabled immigrant sinks to a level where economic survival and securing basic needs for his children is a challenge. When a foreign-trained PhD goes looking for a job, he is sometimes asked: "How heavy a load can you lift?" No one in this highly educated society seems to want to ask these experts about their research papers, publications or professional experience. Instead, newcomers are asked immediately about Canadian experience. Is this Canadian experience served with the meals during the flight to this country? A large number of qualified foreign doctors end up driving cabs and delivering pizzas. At the same time, we hear about a shortage of doctors and the need to import doctors from abroad.
Are these cheap, abundant reserves of high quality immigrants just being stockpiled to fill the needs of a vast labour market, supporting our economy with their crushed egos, shattered dreams and destroyed careers? It is like fuelling cement kilns with diamonds instead of coal: Both have the same chemistry but different market value. It would be illuminating if Statistics Canada published a report on the number of qualified professionals who have been forced to change their occupation and take any available job to make ends meet over the last 10 years. This country needs a new, comprehensive plan for qualified immigrants based on Canada's actual manpower requirements so immigrants can be assimilated quickly into their own fields. Further, the present generation of immigrants should be integrated into the economy on a priority basis to save them and their children from deep and lasting psychological scars.
A physical or mental deficiency that prevents normal achievement is known as a disability. "Type I" congenital disability arises from defects during prenatal development. "Type II" occurs due to mental, physical or emotional stress in childhood. Now we observe a new type of disability, as yet barely acknowledged. Newly arrived qualified immigrants in Canada– accountants, chemists, doctors, engineers, scientists and other professionals – suffer from this disability, despite having passed rigorous medical examination before receiving immigrant visas. It is not a genetic disorder or a contagious disease: The growing feelings of unacceptability, increasing mental stress, alarming financial pressures, repeated rejections of academic qualifications, and failures to find a career-oriented job are the causes behind it. We can call it "professional disability." It kills self-confidence, inducing an inner feeling of worthlessness. A petroleum chemist ends up working at a gas station instead of an oil refinery. A child is embarrassed when asked about what his parents do for a living: How do we measure the pressure exerted on this young developing mind?
According to a Statistics Canada report in 2006, 36 per cent of immigrants aged 25 to 54 years had at least a bachelor's degree, compared with 22 per cent among native-born Canadians. But the unemployment rate is 11.4 per cent among immigrants and only 2.9 per cent among native-born Canadians with the same qualifications. What steps are we taking to face this challenge, or do we simply not care? The Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, 2006, which is aimed at helping immigrants find jobs within 34 regulated professions, became law in March 2007. The act requires Ontario regulators to have a quicker, fairer and more open process of recognizing foreign credentials. It is a step forward but needs a little acceleration. Immigrants are granted residency or citizenship by the federal government based on their expertise, but provincial regulatory bodies close the door on them. Regulatory bodies appear unwilling to hand over the recognition of credentials to Ottawa, leaving immigrants caught between a rock and a hard place.
We should agree on a national standard for the recognition of credentials to end the friction between the federal government and provincial regulatory bodies. The Federal Credentials Referral Office should be given an additional responsibility to advise prospective immigrants to obtain recognition and equivalence of credentials before a resident visa is granted. The professionally disabled immigrant sinks to a level where economic survival and securing basic needs for his children is a challenge. When a foreign-trained PhD goes looking for a job, he is sometimes asked: "How heavy a load can you lift?" No one in this highly educated society seems to want to ask these experts about their research papers, publications or professional experience. Instead, newcomers are asked immediately about Canadian experience. Is this Canadian experience served with the meals during the flight to this country? A large number of qualified foreign doctors end up driving cabs and delivering pizzas. At the same time, we hear about a shortage of doctors and the need to import doctors from abroad.
Are these cheap, abundant reserves of high quality immigrants just being stockpiled to fill the needs of a vast labour market, supporting our economy with their crushed egos, shattered dreams and destroyed careers? It is like fuelling cement kilns with diamonds instead of coal: Both have the same chemistry but different market value. It would be illuminating if Statistics Canada published a report on the number of qualified professionals who have been forced to change their occupation and take any available job to make ends meet over the last 10 years. This country needs a new, comprehensive plan for qualified immigrants based on Canada's actual manpower requirements so immigrants can be assimilated quickly into their own fields. Further, the present generation of immigrants should be integrated into the economy on a priority basis to save them and their children from deep and lasting psychological scars.
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