In our city’s history, immigrants have always played an important role. They build our economic prosperity, diversify our culture, contribute to our social vitality.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission’s (OHRC) calls for removing the “Canadian experience” employment barrier
July 17, 2013A new policy on removing the “Canadian experience” barrier was launched by the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s (OHRC) Chief Commissioner Barbara Hall in partnership with KPMG on July 15th, 2013 in Toronto.
The policy brings human rights and economic arguments to underscore the need to remove employers’ requirement of “Canadian experience” from immigrant job seekers. The policy outlines the importance of attracting and retaining international talent in Ontario, and highlights how the requirement for “Canadian experience” undermines Canada’s reputation as a desired destination for globally competitive workforce, if prospective immigrants fear that they will end up working in the low-skill jobs.
Referring to the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Policy states: “A distinction based on where a person acquired their work experience may indirectly discriminate based on Code grounds such as race, ancestry, colour, place of origin and ethnic origin”.
The implications of the not-written, yet practiced “Canadian experience” rule is that many newcomers end up doing jobs that are significantly lower than their credentials. Even worse, they often turn to unpaid work as a way to acquire the required experience and prove their skills with potential employers. This approach, however, doesn’t often lead to paid employment, since there is always new supply of immigrant workforce who can get into the same trap, “perpetuating the cycle of exploitation”.
The policy on removing the “Canadian experience” barrier is very timely as paid internships are getting more traction as a best practice in promoting immigrant integration into the labour market. While internships are a proven valuable approach providing a stepping stone for qualified individuals into an organization, the specific conditions attached to the internship contracts are crucial to yield the desired results.
The details of the policy on removing the “Canadian experience” barrier and related resources can be found on the OHCR website: http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/news_centre/remove-%E2%80%9Ccanadian-experience%E2%80%9D-employment-barrier-ohrc#sthash.6TJPFPB1.dpuf
More on this issue:
Demanding ‘Canadian experience’ from newcomers may breach Ontario’s human rights code, Toronto Star, Wednesday, July 17, 2013
“Canadian experience job norms violate Ontario Rights Code” New Canadian Media, July 15, 2013
Beyond Canadian Experience – a collaborative project by the University of Toronto Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, Mennonite New Life Centre, Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter, and the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) to deconstruct the notion of “Canadian Experience” with an eye to reducing barriers to employment experienced by immigrants.
