Burnaby Board of Trade Calls for Better Foreign Credential Recognition in Policy Adopted by BC Chamber of Commerce

The Pacific Gateway Committee, an initiative of the Burnaby Board of Trade, successfully lobbied for its policy position calling for better foreign credential recognition to be adopted and endorsed by the delegates of the 2020 BC Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting on May 22-23, making this policy now a formal BC Chamber position. Read the policy position below, or click here.

The Burnaby Board of Trade argues that since B.C. is expected to have 861,000 job openings between 2019 and 2029 and the government has acknowledged that this cannot be filled with local, domestic labour, immigration will continue to be a major source of our workforce in BC.  However, we are selling our businesses, our newcomers, and our economy short if we continue to allow foreign credentials to be devalued and under-recognized

Therefore, The Burnaby Board of Trade calls on the the provincial government to work with the professional regulatory bodies, each of which is created through provincial legislation and within provincial jurisdiction, to expedite and ease the recognition of foreign professional credentials to help fulfill the promise of our newcomers and help satisfy the needs of our business community.

Specifically, the policy calls on the province to, working where appropriate with the federal government and professional colleges and regulatory authorities:

  1. Reduce the wait times, cost, and complexity for professional and trades qualification assessments by expediting the necessary processes and expanding the available placements for testing, residencies, and skills demonstrations
  2. Develop clear and easy-to-understand guides for professional credential recognition, and make them widely available to newcomers both upon arrival and before coming to Canada
  3. Consult and liaise with the BC Chamber of Commerce and the business community on additional ways of ensuring newcomers are able to fulfill current and expected labour market needs