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The Ontario government is pursuing a significant change in employment regulations, aiming to prohibit employers from demanding Canadian work experience when advertising job positions or on application forms. If the proposal is approved, the new rule is scheduled to take effect in December 2023 and is expected to impact more than 30 different occupations.
According to officials, this change is long overdue and is part of the government’s broader “Working for Workers” legislation initiative. Labour Minister David Piccini expressed his support for this reform, emphasizing that many newcomers to Canada often find themselves in positions for which they are overqualified. The primary objective is to help these individuals secure well-paying and fulfilling careers while addressing the ongoing labor shortage in the province.
The proposed legislation also includes various other labor-related changes, such as the requirement for employers to disclose salary ranges in job postings, the prohibition of non-disclosure agreements in cases of workplace misconduct, and enhanced benefits for workers who suffer injuries on the job.
Furthermore, this move follows a recent revision by the province, which allowed more than 30 non-healthcare trade occupations, including engineers, technicians, electricians, and plumbers, to remove the Canadian work experience requirement from their eligibility criteria. Before this change, candidates in these fields were mandated to have at least one year of Canadian work experience to obtain their professional licenses. Professional Engineers Ontario was the first organization to adopt this change, granting internationally-trained workers the opportunity to obtain their licenses without prior Canadian work experience.
The forthcoming legislation is also set to expand the eligibility criteria for the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP). Under the new provisions, international students who have completed one-year college graduate certificate programs will be eligible to apply for permanent residency through the OINP. This year alone, the government reported nominating 16,500 immigrants for permanent residency via the OINP, reflecting a commitment to attracting and retaining skilled individuals in the province.
Published by Hear Her Stories