By Shelby Thevenot
The parliamentary secretary to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced nearly $1.5 million in funding to help newcomers work in the Canadian health sector faster.
The funds are intended to promote collaboration and information sharing in the health sector. Specifically, to help internationally educated health care professionals get their credentials recognized faster.
The project builds on the success of the National Newcomer Navigation Network (N4), an online platform for foreign health care professionals who wish to work in Canada. N4 was launched in 2019 by the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario’s (CHEO).
“CHEO has a proven track record of ensuring health and social service sector professionals have the knowledge and tools they need to provide equitable care and services to newcomers,” said Marie-France Lalonde, Parliamentary Secretary to the immigration minister. “We are pleased to continue working with the National Newcomer Navigation Network to support health care professionals educated abroad in securing jobs in Canada’s health care sector. These services will help more newcomers succeed, while also helping to build a better future for all Canadians”.
In addition to helping internationally educated health care professionals work in Canada, the funds will enable N4 to serve as a platform where newcomers can find information on foreign qualification and credential recognition in all provinces and territories outside Quebec.
“Newcomers are an integral part of our communities,” said Alex Munter, CEO and President of CHEO. “Their full inclusion in our health-care workforce will help us address staffing shortages, while also incorporating richly diverse voices of lived experience and better supporting other newcomers.”
This funding comes from a dedicated stream within Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Settlement Program, which invests in projects that support future settlement programming. IRCC has allocated a total of nearly $1.02 billion in settlement services in 2022-2023, an increase of about 11% from 2021-2022, according to public records obtained by CIC News.
Canada is facing a tight labour market, especially in the health sector. Statistic Canada recently reported record levels of job vacancies in health care and social assistance. In March, out of more than 1 million job vacancies, health care and social assistance employers were seeking to fill 154,500 vacancies.
Source: CIC News
