The Forum of Labour Market Ministers is pleased to present this Implementation Update, which describes some recent developments in our efforts to improve labour mobility within Canada. As noted in this Implementation Update, significant progress has been made already toward the goal of ensuring that workers can have access to employment opportunities in any province or territory without unnecessary barriers. We acknowledge and commend the efforts to date and encourage all stakeholders to continue working towards this important objective. We are confident that we can accomplish this together. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people across Canada relocate to a different province or territory and look for work.
Thousands more seek employment outside their home province without relocating.
These people particularly those who work in regulated occupations sometime face delays, extra costs or other difficulties in having their qualifications recognized when they move across provincial or territorial boundaries. This has the effect of preventing or restricting their labour mobility and their ability to work. Chapter 7 of the AIT the Labour Mobility Chapter says that any worker qualified for an occupation in one province or territory must be granted access to employment opportunities in that occupation in any other province or territory. The Labour Mobility Chapter says that residency requirements as a condition of employment or certification are no longer permitted. Instead, workers are to be licensed and registered based primarily on their ability to do the job.