Dis new bill go make am dey easy for newcomers to get work for Canada?

Ontario for Canada dey ready to stop employers from asking pipo wey dey find work to show say dem get Canada work experience.

Dis ban fit open di door for some immigrants – but employment discrimination no dey clear like black and white.

For im size, Canada don allow plenty immigrants to enta dia kontri.

For 2023, Canada immigration authorities record 526,000 new "permanent residents", or newcomers wey dey live for di kontri wey never be citizens, for kontri wit roughly 38 million pipo.

Compare am wit US, wey get nearly ten-times di number of Canada population, wey welcome just more dan one million newcomers for 2023.

Still, dis new Canada permanent residents dey face frustration wen dem dey apply to find work wey go match dia educational experience.

Canada immigration system depend mainly on skill-based "points" system wey dey reward foreign applicants wit advanced degrees.

But even wit dat, researchers o, newcomers o, all continue to tok about how di system block some immigrants from getting qualifying job opportunities and forcing dem to dey hustle for low pay, dangerous work.

"Di tori be say you get beta CV, good experience and good education, but you no get Canada experience in area wey you dey find work, so we no fit give you work," Izumi Sakamoto, one associate professor for University of Toronto, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, wey dey study immigrants, tok.

For November 2023, Ontario goment take wetin be like bold step wen dem introduce Bill 149.

Bill 149 ban employers from asking for Canada work experience wen dem dey advertise for work for di province wey get di highest population for di kontri.

E also ask about 30 professional associations, regulatory bodies wey dey responsible for controlling who fit work for areas like medicine or teaching, make dem drop di policy.

Ontario lawmakers still dey consider dis law, wey be part of employment-rule changes, but experts predict say dem go pass am, maybe as soon as di next few months, thanks to di ruling Progressive Conservative Party commanding majority.

Researchers and newcomer-employment professionals believe say dis ban na good step to help skilled immigrant applicants, wey dey constantly face discrimination or disqualification based on wia dem bin get dia degree or work experience.

But di problem of hiring discrimination dey real, and dis law no go necessarily fix am.

"E dey difficult to prove how dem take discriminate against you to get di job," Sakamoto, tok. "Hiring practices dey happun behind closed doors. We no dey usually get di reasons why dem no hire some pipo."

Canada employment Catch-22

Immigrants to Canada, by and large, dey find work.

You fit consider about half of di pipo wey go enta Canada throughout di next three years as "economic immigrants", meaning say dem leave dia home kontris becos dem believe say beta work opportunities dey for dem for Canada.

Most times dem even get beta education pass dia mates wey from Canada, and wit time, dem go employ dem at similar rates.

However, some companies wit clear eyes dey demand for Canada work experience, according to Ontario Human Rights Commission, or dem no go just hire applicants wey get overseas certificates. Professional associations don follow dem.

Sakamoto point out say Professional Engineers Ontario, di association wey dey represent Ontario engineering sector, bin require minimum degrees of Canada work experience until 2023.

Meanwhile, Canada shortage of skilled workers, from doctors to welders.

As many as 300,000 vacancies for Ontario still dey empty, according to Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini.

"For far too long, dem don squeeze too many pipo wey enta Canada toward dead-end work wey dem dey overqualified for," Piccani tok for one statement last November. "We need to make sure say dis pipo fit land well-paying and rewarding careers wey go tackle di labour shortage."

In particular, dis situation bad pass for immigrants wey dey medicine, dentistry, optometry and veterinary medicine.

Just 4.5% of Canada citizens wey get dis degrees no dey work for dia fields.

For immigrants, dat number dey closer to 30%.

Wen Covid-19 pandemic reach di highest level for 2020, around 13,000 internationally trained doctors bin no dey practice for Ontario alone, according to statistics from Health Force Ontario.

"Some of dem go come here decide to become nurse, or even personal-support worker," Carlos Martins, wey be employment specialist wey dey work wit immigrants wey dey find work for social-service organisation Lutherwood, tok.

Dis no be di case for all immigrants – Martins add say software engineers get much easier time finding for dia field dan doctors, dentists or even lawyers.

For di past 10 years, Sakamoto and some organisations wey dey represent newcomers don push di Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) to address di Canada work experience issue.

For 2013, OHRC, one body wey dey in charge of human rights complaints, announce for one policy paper say dem dey consider requiring Canada experience for job applicants to be "prima facie discrimination [discrimination on im face] and dem fit only use am for limited circumstances".

Ten years later, Ontario goment announce law wey give di opinion legal power.

Hard skills and soft skills

Both Sakamoto and Martins believe say Bill 149 na good idea, sake of di discrimination wey newcomer employees fit face wen dem dey try to get di right work.

However, e dey tricky to prove say employer only dey interested in applicants wey get Canada education or work experience – and even wit new law, wey eyes no fit see, wey fit prevent immigrant applicants from getting work.

Sakamoto says Canada work experience, according to her research, involve two tins.

Hard skills na wetin dey show for CV: wia di applicant go school, any professional certifications wey dem get or portfolio of work wey dem don complete.

She hope Bill 149 defend against discrimination on dat basis.

However, soft skills, or di "fit" of prospective hire into organisational culture, na also important consideration for hiring managers.

Sakamoto say dis fit refer to many tins about di pesin: for instance, di ability to fit into di industry workplace culture, interact wit colleagues and generally function for Canada office.

Unlike hard skills, applicant no fit provide certificate to show say dem get advanced soft skills.

Di only way to get dis one na mainly through di time wey you spend by di water cooler or for di boardroom, or for social occasions afta work.

Sakamoto say employers dey depend more and more on dis kain soft skills as barometer for employing pipo, both for Canada and around for di world.

In her experience, dis fit provide ways to deny say dem dismiss newcomer application despite say dem get excellent credentials and work experience.

Di real reason for rejection fit be say di employer no like somebody accent, or di smell of food wey dem carry come work for lunch. But no need to discuss dat one.

"Dem no even need to tok about Canada work experience for dis area," Sakamoto say. "Dem go fit just hide behind 'soft skills', and dis mysterious terms wey no clear wey pipo no fit really define."

Martins imsef na newcomer – im come from Brazil nearly 10 years ago.

For im experience, and dat of clients wey im dey work wit, employers no dey ask for Canada work experience koro koro.

Still, im say, "I don apply for many jobs bifor, and for many of dis work dem no call me, or I get interviews, and dem no go employ me. Dem fit give any reason – I no fit just say dis na sake of say I be newcomer".

Now dem dey employ: All experience welcome

Ontario bill fit be di highest profile, but oda provinces too don dey gradually make similar moves.

For example, British Columbia, Canada westernmost province and home to significant newcomer population, table similar bill last October.

If dem adopt am to law, dis guidelines fit get significant impact on Canada working class as a whole, compared to oda North American kontria, sake of dia high immigrant population.

Sakamoto hope say Ontario legislation go take off, but also hope say employers no go just use coded language like asking for soft skills wey you only fit get from Canada workplace experience.

Instead, she say make employers carry di inclusion of Canadian newcomers for dia mind, sometin wey law wey dey ban koro koro discrimination fit no necessarily fix.

"Unless di motivation to want to discriminate against immigrants no go go away," Sakamoto tok, "den oda kains of discriminations go show".