Although Canada admits highly qualified professionals to the country in part for possessing such strong credentials, a large proportion of these immigrants are unable to land jobs in their field of training.
Though the government cannot guarantee jobs to educated immigrants just like it cannot do so to Canadian citizens , it owes them a legal playing field according to experts.
The process required for these immigrants to become licensed and employed in Canada must be similar to ones required of Canadian-educated professionals. Foreigners must not face difficulties just because their professional credentials are foreign, they say.
Study Finds Immigrants Face Difficulty In Getting High Skill Jobs
A study commissioned by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and Centre for International Governance Innovation, has revealed that such a level playing field doesn’t exist.
The study which is based on interviews with foreign lawyers, regulators, immigration officials and employees, finds that while both groups complete similar educational, exam, and experience requirements, foreign lawyers are required to fulfil these conditions under circumstances that make it highly difficult to succeed.
A 2010 Statistics Canada study using 2006 census data has shown that Canadian-educated lawyers are more likely to practice as lawyers than foreign lawyers. Nearly 69 per cent of Canadian-educated lawyers worked in legal jobs while only 12 per cent of foreign lawyers did, a figure that marginally went up to 13.3 per cent in a similar subsequent study in 2014.
Circumstances Difficult For Foreign Lawyers
Some of these foreign lawyers are not working in legal jobs due to aptitude. For example these could include Canadians who failed to make it into local colleges but studied law abroad. In such situations, lack of being matched to legal jobs is reasonable as Canada’s legal profession is under no obligation to dilute its standards.
But many other foreign lawyers are unable to practice law in Canada due to issues related to circumstances, and not due to lack of ability.
These lawyers face several barriers not faced by Canadian-educated lawyers :.
- Foreign-educated lawyers face a lengthy licensure timeline which can last years , particularly for those in civil law
- These lawyers don’t have access to sufficient student loans, which results in them working full-time while studying which impacts exam pass rates
- They mostly study without any support from professors or other peers
- The lawyers are not allowed to participate in job “fairs,” which helps Canadian lawyers’ to enter the profession.
- They at times lack “the learned mannerisms” critical for finding jobs.
While these barriers can be tackled separately, taken together they pose a significant hurdle to foreign lawyers’ efforts to practice in Canada.
Canada Loses Due To Underutilization
Such mismatch is an issue for Canada as it loses out when its human capital is under-utilized. High-skilled workers should not be forced to work in low-skill jobs when they can add more value elsewhere.
The country is also missing out on an opportunity to tackle its “access to justice” problem wherein “ordinary” Canadians are unable to afford lawyers. With an increase in the supply of lawyers, their fees could fall, making legal services more affordable.
Addressing Barriers Is Possible
Many of these barriers can be addressed with some steps to support the foreign professionals:
- Immigration officials as well as regulators must inform immigrants in detail about the professional and language requirements. They should also help them meet as many of these as possible before immigrating.
- Detailed labour market reports must be offered to enable immigrants make informed decisions regarding the best area to settle with respect to potential for professional jobs
- Governments must offer micro-loans for eligible foreign professionals to pass through the licensing process.
The $5,000 bursaries made available via Ontario’s Bridging Participant Assistance Program is one such example. However financing should be kept scalable to the needs of the licensing process.
- Law societies must make available alternatives to the mandatary articling rule. Ontario’s Law Practice Program, is an example this wherein foreign lawyers can fulfil the requirement even without articling jobs.
- All provinces must set up fairness commissioners similar to those in Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec and Nova Scotia – who work to reduce the gaps in licensing processes for Canadian- and foreign-trained professionals.