On April 30, 2019, Jason Kenney was sworn in as Premier of Alberta after winning an election on a promise to scrap the carbon tax, create good jobs, fight without relent to get pipelines built, and stand up to Justin Trudeau and those who are holding us back.
Wow! After 87 days, every Albertan is back to work. The Wildrose Province is overflowing with new pipelines. The Carbon Tax is gone for good. Premier Kenney’s magic wand has done it. Really? Well, not really! After 87 days, Premier Kenney has cut taxes for corporations and make students work for a reduced pay. The UCP preaching the gospel of cost reductions will be spending increasingly scare financial resources to organize elections for Albertans into the Canadian Senate that will never be considered by the Prime Minister. The Carbon Tax was the first to go by the UCP Government even though a federal Carbon Tax may be on its way nation wide. Non Profits and universities mourns the fact that grants will be gone, so too are the staff members that were paid by these grants. Worst of all, and surprisingly, grants that were approved before the UCP Government came to power may not be granted for the projects they were approved for. It’s certainly too early to talk about new jobs created just a couple of months into the new UCP Government, but certainly cuts can be married to job losses and brothers and sisters in government and government agencies will soon have a taste of this UCP’s prescription.
After 87 days, Premier Kenney and the UCP have passed over a dozen Bills, including Bill 11, the Fair Registration Practices Act, to help newcomers get their credentials recognized so as to quickly get to work in their fields to help grow the economy and create jobs. The UCP says the Fair Registration Practices Act will cut red tape, remove barriers, speed up the process where possible, hold professional bodies accountable, and increase fairness and transparency.
“Our goal is to get all Albertans back to work. Too often, we hear stories of ‘doctors driving cabs’ syndrome – and we are taking action to make sure newcomers’ credentials are evaluated and assessed objectively and in a timely manner,” Premier Jason Kenney. Another Jason jumps in, “It’s important for Alberta’s professional bodies to maintain high professional standards while allowing qualified newcomers to fully contribute to our economy. And not only that, giving newcomers the chance to pursue the careers they’ve trained for is, simply put, the right thing to do,” Jason Copping, Minister of Labour and Immigration. And a professional working with newcomers, “The settlement sector in Alberta has been advocating for fair recognition of newcomer qualifications for decades. The proven detrimental impact of underemployment of newcomer professionals is felt not only within their own families, but throughout society as well. We are certain that fair recognition of credentials will improve the quality of life of all Albertans, and are grateful this legislation is being introduced so quickly by the new government,” Anila Lee Yuen, President and CEO, Centre for Newcomers, Calgary.
The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA), the largest association of self-regulated professionals in Western Canada regulates the practices of engineering and geoscience in Alberta on behalf of the Government of Alberta through the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act with members working in diverse industries. APEGA put out a press release on June 19, 2019 on The Fair Registration Practices Act, “…APEGA’s existing registration practices already meet industry best practices, including being aligned with the Government of Alberta’s (GoA) foreign-qualification recognition framework. All APEGA applicants are treated in an equal, balanced and fair manner, based on their qualifications, not their country of origin. In addition, APEGA continuously strives to enhance and expedite its application process without compromising public safety…”.
From this release from APEGA, and talking to other major regulatory bodies for accountants, architect, and nurses, it’s fair to say that Bill 11 adds no value to the plight of skilled newcomers as most regulatory bodies claims they are already in compliance and can make any necessary adjustments in a twinkle of an eye. The Bill falls short of tackling the realities of skilled newcomers in Alberta. A quick certification response from the regulatory bodies is not the key challenge faced by skilled newcomers, but a respect of their credentials, internships, and bridging programs to give skilled newcomers the most important component of their resume and entry ticket into Canadian workforce – the Canadian experience. This Bill 11 is at best, hastily put together by people who have not experienced the problem they are trying to solve, trying to give the UCP the all important looking good feeling. At worst, the Bill is a PR campaign to be seen as listening to the problems of minorities and new Canadians and attract attention of newcomers to feel that their interest is being taken care of by Premier Kenney and the Kenneynites. It’s sad to say the $25 per day daycare that these newcomer skilled Albertans hope to use to take care of their kids while they work to transition into skilled employment will be cut by the giant scissors of the same Premier Kenney trying to be a messiah at the other end of their journey.
While Diversity Magazine is the loudest multicultural voice in Alberta, covering stories in the four major cities and invited to every Ethnic Media Round Table in Alberta, it was not invited to the first Ethnic Media Round Table in Edmonton organized by the UCP Government for obviously saying things as we see it using our independent voice. We however still have to give credit where it is due. The NDP with their super majority in the Alberta Legislation, never passed a Bill for skilled newcomers or attempted to. Interestingly, a conservative party is the one trying to attract newcomers or at least attempting to become a United Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta. You know what, the NDP also deserve a report of their own in our next article. Also worthy of praise to the UCP is the relaxation of liquor service at festivals. Restaurants and liquor stores sell liquor without a fence as high as the Tower of Babel but festivals were made to do all this. Serving liquor at a festival is regulated like enriching of Uranium in Iran.
At the World Refugee Day event at Edmonton City Hall on June 20, 2019, Diversity Magazine caught up with the new Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism, and Status of Women, Leela Sharon Aheer, and wanted to know the fate of the popular Anti-Racism Council put in place by the former NDP Government to advise the Alberta Government on racism. She shared that, “…we have a different view….we are creating a space for multiculturalism. We just have to figure out…”. Well we will be keeping a close eye on those ideas as the new government settles in.
We will certainly be back with more analysis and updates after another three months about a new UCP Government vision and actions for Alberta.
