On October 23, David Eby & Andrew Mercier introduced a new bill wherein professional immigrants came to BC to put their skills to work as quickly as possible. 

The bill aimed to attract foreign skilled workers to BC from across the globe, thus strengthening the province’s economy.

The ‘General Responsibilities’ written in the bill include establishing & implementing an international credential assessment procedure which is fair, effective, efficient, & transparent. 

The bill will need regulatory bodies to remove barriers in 29 occupations if successfully passed. 

As a result, it will be easy for qualified professional immigrants to seek credential recognition.

Those 29 occupations include engineers, lawyers, social workers, early childhood educators, paramedics, etc. 

Moreover, the legislation will also remove redundant language testing. If the candidate has already submitted valid language testing results as a part of the application, a regulatory body isn’t allowed to impose submitting new language testing results. 

Furthermore, there will be caps for maximum processing times. Well, it will also include a guarantee that a determination will be made within a reasonable time for the application.

Notably, interactions regarding determinations made in an assessment should be given to the candidate within 14 days. In addition, the bill also needs the assessment information to be available online.

Eby stated that they have numerous unfair processes that force professional immigrants to go through complex & repetitive processes. These procedures are frustrating & cause people to give up & work in a field they aren’t trained in. 

Further, he stated that artificial barriers often limit new professional immigrants from contributing to the province. However, Ebay has promised to admit & speed up the employment process for immigrants with foreign training since he became Premier in November last year. 

If the bill is passed, it will come into force in the summer of next year. Moreover, a new superintendent will also be appointed & responsible for promoting fair credential recognition.