October 22, 2008

MANITOBA HIRES FIRST FAIRNESS COMMISSIONER FOR QUALIFICATIONS RECOGNITION


After a rigorous public competition overseen by the Government of Manitoba’s Civil Service Commission, Manitoba has selected the province’s first fairness commissioner to be responsible for the implementing the Fair Registration Practices in Regulated Professions Act and improving qualifications recognition for skilled immigrants to Manitoba, Labour and Immigration Minister Nancy Allan announced today

The act, passed in 2007, will help to ensure that regulated professions are governed by registration practices that are transparent, objective, impartial and fair, said the minister. It calls for the appointment of a fairness commissioner to work with regulators to improve pathways to recognition and employment for skilled immigrants trying to establish their careers in Manitoba, as well as professional licensing practices for all Manitobans.

The new fairness commissioner is Ximena Munoz. Munoz, herself an immigrant professional, came to Canada from Chile and has spent over two decades working to improve settlement and labour market services for immigrants. As director of the Manitoba Settlement and Labour Market Services Branch, she has worked extensively with provincial departments and with Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Manitoba’s Settlement Strategy, developed under her leadership, has set new directions for Manitoba to develop services and supports that meet the needs of increasing immigration to the province, said Allan.

“We are delighted to welcome Ms. Munoz as the first fairness commissioner in Manitoba. Her experience and commitment to qualifications recognition will undoubtedly be an asset to helping immigrants and individuals from out of province establish successful careers in Manitoba.”

Throughout her career, Munoz has been committed to the improvement of qualifications recognition practices for internationally educated professionals. In 2001, she organized Manitoba’s first think‑tank meeting bringing together immigrants, regulators, employers, policy-makers and other stakeholders which led to the development a Qualifications Recognition Strategy that was the first of its kind in Canada. On the basis of this strategy, Munoz and her colleagues in the Immigration and Multiculturalism Division worked in collaboration with regulators, employers and educational partners to establish a series of several ground-breaking demonstration projects. For example, the Internationally Educated Engineers Qualifications Recognition Program is now a model being replicated throughout Canada.

Under the Fair Registration Practices in Regulated Professions Act, the responsibilities of the fairness commissioner will include providing information and advice to regulated professions concerning the requirements of the act, reviewing the registration practices of those professions for compliance with these requirements, recommending improvements and reporting to the minister of labour and immigration on registration practices related to internationally educated individuals and reporting to other ministers on matters related to implementation of the act.

Munoz is expected to begin her new duties by the middle of November, said Allan. Among her first responsibilities will be the establishment of an Office of the Fairness Commissioner and working with professional regulators to develop regulations for the new legislation as well as a common strategy to implement the requirements of the act.

More information on the fairness commissioner and the Fair Registration Practices in Regulated Professions Act is available from the Immigration and Multiculturalism Division at 204-945-8310.

- 30 -