Government of Canada helps foreign-trained professionals find work in environmental sector

CALGARY, ALBERTA, February 10, 2010—The Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State (Seniors) and Member of Parliament for Calgary–Nose Hill, announced today, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, that the Government of Canada is supporting a project to help better integrate foreign‑trained workers into the Canadian workforce through an initiative with the environmental sector.

The Environmental Careers Organization of Canada (ECO Canada) will receive $1,294,865 in Foreign Credential Recognition Program funding for its Environmental Sector Immigration Strategy.

“Our government is committed to helping newcomers succeed in Canada,” said Minister of State Ablonczy. “Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, our government is taking action to improve foreign credential recognition so that newcomers can maximize their talents. We are proud to support ECO Canada’s Environmental Sector Immigration Strategy, because attracting the best international talent is vital to Canada’s long-term economic success.”

The funding will enable ECO Canada to create an assessment and job matching system that will help foreign-trained workers to find jobs in the environmental sector. This system will place skilled immigrants in areas with the highest demand, and will enhance their employment opportunities in Canada.

“ECO Canada is pleased to be part of this project as it aligns with our mandate of ensuring a sufficient supply of skilled professionals to address the labour requirements of the Canadian environmental sector,” said Mr. Grant Trump, President and Chief Executive Officer, ECO Canada. “The Bridging component of this project provides an effective vehicle to link the environment sector’s labour market demands with competent immigrants arriving in Canada with environmentally related education and experience.”

Canada’s Economic Action Plan invested $50 million to work with the provinces and territories and other partners, such as employers, to address barriers to foreign credential recognition in Canada. This investment directly contributed to the development of the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications, which was announced last November.

Under the Framework, foreign-trained workers who submit an application to be licensed or registered to work in certain fields will be advised within one year whether their qualifications will be recognized. TheFramework is part of the Government of Canada’s strategy to have the best educated, most skilled and most flexible workforce in the world.

With this $50-million investment, the Government will:

• develop the principles that will guide the process of foreign credential recognition;
• develop standards for the timely handling of requests;
• identify key occupations that will be the priority for developing recognition standards; and
• help people who want to come to Canada understand what they need to know before they arrive.

The Foreign Credential Recognition Program and the Foreign Credentials Referral Office are the key federal initiatives in place to support pan-Canadian implementation of the Framework.

To learn more about Canada’s Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.

Click here for the most recent information on Canada's response to the earthquake in Haiti.

Click here for the most recent information from Citizenship and Immigration Canada on adoptions and immigration from Haiti.

Dear Calgary Nose-Hill constituents,

As we enter 2010 I wish you and your family a healthy, successful, and satisfying year.

The economy remains Canadians' top priority and our top priority.  While we are starting to see signs of a revival in Canada's economy, recovery is fragile. Our government is committed to staying on course to fully implement Canada's Economic Action Plan. 

As we enter Phase II of our Plan, our goal will be to continue the rapid implementation of the Economic Action Plan and the rolling out of remaining stimulus projects across the country. At the same time, we are also looking ahead to future challenges, especially restoring balanced budgets once our economy is fully recovered and building a strong foundation for future economic growth.

Over the course of the next few weeks we will be meeting with and hearing from Canadian families, homeowners, workers, business-owners and industries from across the country about how best to meet our goals for Phase II of Canada's Economic Action Plan.

We will be holding a town hall meeting here in Calgary-Nose Hill on February 9^th to discuss with constituents their thoughts on responsible budgeting and on how best to build a strong economic future for our great country. It will be held at 7:30 pm, at the Foothills Alliance Church, 333 Edgepark Blvd. NW. 

The Federal Budget will be tabled in the House of Commons on March 4^th 2010 and I will send out information to all constituents shortly afterwards with the highlights of the new budget plan.

In February, the eyes of the entire world will be on Canada during the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler. This is, of course, a splendid opportunity to grow Canada's visitor economy and make us even more competitive in the global tourism marketplace. Canada's tourism promotion and marketing arm, the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC), has been doing outstanding work to help showcase Canada's unique destinations and attractions. We are very excited about the Olympics and about the opportunity to show the over 3 billion people who will tune into these Games that Canada is a destination they must visit soon.

So we are off to a busy but energizing start to the New Year and look forward to working with you on the issues facing Canada.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact my office with any questions or concerns you may have.

Sincerely,

Diane Ablonczy, M.P.

Dear Calgary - Nose Hill Constituents,

The fall session of Parliament has dealt with many issues and events of interest to you. At the beginning, the focus was mostly on whether or not there would be another election after the Official Opposition made it known that they would no longer be supporting any government legislation. However, support from the NDP has allowed Parliament to stay focused on measures needed to help bring Canada into recovery.

Hello Everyone,

Parliament resumed sitting this week after the summer recess so it’s a good time to give you an update.  

TORONTO, September 10, 2009 — Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for tourism met today to discuss ways to strengthen the competitiveness of Canada’s tourism industry. The Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism), and the Honourable Monique Smith, Ontario’s Minister of Tourism, co-chaired the meeting.

Things have been pretty interesting in Ottawa lately. There is much that has been very positive. At the same time, some very difficult decisions have had to be made on everything from bailouts, Canada’s medical isotope capacity, response to H1N1, improving the immigration system, environmental policy challenges, and how to push back against U.S. trade barriers. Most challenging of all were the discussions around the Cabinet table about if, how, and on what basis, to deploy stimulus spending and incur deficits.

New Federal Tourism Strategy will support businesses and create jobs

Canadians who work in the tourism and hospitality sector will benefit from a federal tourism strategy that brings together the best ideas from the public and private sectors. Prime Minister Stephen Harper told a gathering of national tourism industry leaders.

Travellers to Canada’s National Parks and Historic Sites will continue to enjoy low entry fee prices until 2011 thanks to a fee freeze from the Conservative government. This will allow more families to enjoy Canada’s natural splendor, and will provide a needed boost to our tourism industry.