Huge success for engineers applying to work in another province

Chantal Guay, ing., new chief executive officer of Engineers Canada, said she welcomes the recent Premiers’ agreement to have full mobility of labour between the provinces by next year.
On July 18, the Premiers of Canada’s provinces and territories met in Quebec City for their annual meeting as the Council of the Federation. They announced that “full labour mobility for all Canadians” was critically important. They said that by January 1, 2009 they intend to amend the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) to ensure that “any worker certified for an occupation by a regulatory authority of one province or territory shall be recognized as qualified to practice that occupation by all other provinces.” The Premiers also said that the permissions to work in other provinces should be given “without further material training, examinations or assessment requirements.”
Ms. Guay said, “We welcome the announcement. The engineering profession has long recognized the importance of having an efficient nation-wide labour mobility regime.” She indicated that already over 99.5 per cent of engineers wishing to transfer their skills form one province to another were being granted licences to do so. As well, 95 per cent of those applications were granted within five working days.
Engineers Canada (formerly the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers “CCPE) is the national organization representing the provincial and territorial professional engineering licensing organizations. Under its auspices, the different licensing associations have had a mobility agreement in place since 1999. There is a proviso, however, that the public’s health and safety must be protected first. This proviso was also part of the Council of the Federation’s announcement, in that it said exceptions to full labour mobility can be made if there is a “legitimate objective such as the protection of health or public safety.”
The Premiers also noted that their decision to amend the Agreement on Internal Trade by next year would also make it easier for foreign-trained individuals who obtain a credential in one province to move to another.
British Columbia and Alberta already have a trade and labour mobility agreement (TILMA).
Approximately 2,600 professional engineers apply to transfer between provinces and territories across Canada every year.