As Canada’s economy looks to recover from the past turbulent year and a half, helping immigrant workers reach their full employment potential should be an important priority. Because, as this new report from Public Policy Forum lays out, while Canada does an admirable job at attracting a lot of highly-skilled immigrants, once they arrive here many work well below their potential. This has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic that has also disproportionately affected minorities and women, write the authors.
Eliminating barriers to finding jobs and opportunities commensurate with their skill, education, and experience will not only help these immigrants and combat rising inequality but will also bolster Canada’s overall economy as well.
“In meeting the challenge of COVID-19, Canada has an opportunity to better prepare for the needs of the workforce of the future, while strengthening the economy. This response needs to be collaborative — between all levels of government, educational institutions, employers, regulators, and civil society — and multifaceted.”
Recommendations within include:
- Developing a national strategy to enhance immigrant labour-market inclusion;
- Establishing policies and programs to mitigate negative impacts of the pandemic on immigrant and migrant groups; and
- Developing innovative tools for an immigrant-inclusive post-pandemic economic rebuild for Canada.
