TRIEC Statement: Ontario Government’s Plan to Ban Canadian Work Experience Requirement in Job Postings is a Step Towards Dismantling Barriers to Immigrant Employment

Toronto, ON (November 14, 2023) – On Thursday, November 9, 2023, Ontario’s Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, David Piccini, announced the provincial government’s plan to ban employers from asking for Canadian work experience on job postings or application forms. TRIEC commends what this announcement represents — a rejection of Canadian work experience as a prerequisite for immigrants to gain skills-appropriate employment.

The impact of under-utilizing immigrant talent on their families and the Ontario economy are clear. Working in under-utilized roles can cost immigrants and their families $20-25K annually in lost income, which is in addition to the lower levels of mental well-being that come with weak job market integration. Bringing unemployment and participation rates for immigrants in line with the mean for Canadian-born workers would lift Ontario’s real gross domestic product by $12-20 billion each year.

While the Ontario Human Rights Code already prohibits asking about Canadian experience in the hiring process, we still hear of it being used as a short-hand measure of a candidate’s suitability. The “Canadian experience” barrier runs deeper than publicly posted job ads. It is covert and shows up at different stages of the hiring process. Employers, directly or through third-party recruiters, may screen out resumes based on the country where prior work or education was done, rather than on its relevance to the position. In interviews, they may evaluate “soft skills” without applying a cultural lens. A lack of Canadian references can also make it difficult for immigrants to secure their first job.

The onus of overcoming systemic barriers to employment has largely been put on immigrants themselves. As per TRIEC’s Bridging the Gap report, released in 2022, more than half (58 per cent) of surveyed immigrant women professionals stated that they downgraded their educational achievements and/or experience to get their foot in the door at lower positions than they were qualified for. Respondents also took on unpaid work to gain experience in their fields, changed or shortened their names, altered their accents and changed their appearances to “fit” perceived employer expectations. At the time of the survey, about 42 per cent of respondents stated that they were employed in lower-level jobs than they last held before immigrating.

Recognizing that immigrant integration into the workforce is a two-way street, the provincial government has been working towards a better balance of responsibility between immigrants and employers. The proposed ban on the requirement for Canadian work experience in job postings is one of many labour law changes to be introduced in legislation this week. The new legislation would also require employers to inform job seekers about the use of artificial intelligence in the hiring process and disclose salary ranges in job postings. These changes would build on the law passed by the Ontario government in 2021 to remove Canadian work experience for licensing in certain non-health professions.

TRIEC’s recently launched Voices for Change initiative provides an in-depth look into the “Lack of Canadian Experience” issue, how it impacts immigrants, and potential solutions to tackle it. We remain committed to working with employers, government, community partners and other key stakeholders to help newcomers successfully integrate into the labour market.

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MEDIA CONTACT

For additional information, please contact:

Rohit Singh, Manager, Content and Public Relations
rsingh@triec.ca
647-782-6256

About TRIEC

The Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) addresses the persistent problem of underemployment, by supporting organizations to become more inclusive, and helping newcomers expand their professional networks and understand the local labour market. We do this by partnering with organizations from across all sectors in the GTA, because we believe that a collaborative approach achieves the greatest impact.