PROMPT – Policy Roundtable Mobilizing Professions and Trades

1. PROMPT – Policy Roundtable Mobilizing Professions and Trades Meeting – Saturday, May 24 Presentation of the Environmental Scan Setting PROMPT’s Priorities Venue: Metro Hall, Room 304

2. PROMPT Meeting – May 24, 2003 Agenda 9:30am – 4:00pm Refreshments and networking (9:30-10.00) Morning (10-12.30) • Introductions 5 mins • Agenda and session objectives 5 • Environmental scan presentation (Rich Janzen and Maureen Lymburner) and discussion 140 Lunch (12.30-1.15) Afternoon (1.15-4.00) • Report back from Priority Setting Working Group and final priority setting exercise 120 • Next steps 40 • Wrap up/meeting evaluation 5

3. What are the Objectives of this Session? • To hear and discuss the results of the Environmental Scan • To understand the priority setting process undertaken by the working group and to review the group’s shortlisted priorities • To make a final decision about PROMPT’s priority areas • To discuss PROMPT’s next steps

4. Five Problem Areas for Solution Brainstorming

5. Priority Setting Process • April 24th PROMPT meeting - a total of 94 solutions brainstormed • Members invited to add ideas – resulted in 108 solutions • Priorities grouped in related themes and redistributed to PROMPT • Duplicate ideas removed, similar ideas combined – reduced list to 82 solutions; distributed to working group • May 14th working group met to develop criteria and weighting. Did an initial screen of which ideas PROMPT should be involved in. Working group made up of Hossein, Carlos, Uday, Uzma, Yalmaz and Jane (representing 25% of PROMPT members associations).

6. Priority Setting Process – Criteria and Weighting AXIS: Ability to Implement • PROMPT likely return on effort (20% weighting) • Target implementers likely return on effort (30%) • Likelihood that PROMPT’s capacity will be enhanced by prioritizing the project (10%) • Impact on immigrant employment (40%)

7. Priority Setting Process – Criteria and Weighting AXIS: Alignment to PROMPT • Likelihood that implemented solution will create equity (40%) • Likelihood that implemented solution will lead to policy coherence (20%) • Likelihood that implemented solution will lead to accountability (20%) • Impact on attitudes towards immigrants (20%)

8. Priority Setting Process • Before the next working group meeting, Coordinator did another screen of solutions by considering what PROMPT would do in each solution area. Working group sent list of ideas removed and “Yes” list. • May 20th working group met to affirm ideas being considered and to apply criteria to reduced list of solutions – resulting in 13 proposed solutions • Weighting axis developed by Yalmaz based on the assessment of each solution.

9. Root Cause – Lack of Policy Coherence – Solution #1

10. Root Cause – Lack of Policy Coherence – Solution #2 Solution: Development of models for tri-partite agreements • Legal agreement/understanding between different levels of government How: Develop a paper on the models of tri-partite agreements; consider models from other jurisdictions

11. Root Cause – Lack of Policy Coherence – Solution #3 Solution: Newcomer employment strategy (like the Youth employment strategy) – • make it comprehensive, include components that focus on OSAP, employers, mentoring How: Develop a paper on the benefits of developing a newcomer strategy; research how Youth employment strategy works

12. Root Cause – Lack of Policy Coherence – Solution #4 Solution: Review OSAP regulations to make it more flexible for new immigrants to apply to courses and bridging programs, build into Newcomer strategy, create parity with Canadian graduatess • Financial assistance/borrowing/loans/access to capital to ease economic integration How: Paper outlining current barriers posed by OSAP, benefits of flexibility for all Canadians

13. Root Cause – Canadian Attitudes Towards Immigrants – Solution #1 Solution: Strategy for promotion of/education about immigrants • highlights positive impact on immigrants • promote both the success and hard luck stories of new immigrants • Identify mainstream players to champion issues; • Internationally educated professionals month (eg, Black History Month). How: Do a paper that both outlines the benefits of an educational campaign and proposes how the campaign would be structured; develop best practices for promotional campaigns; develop a tool kit for use by community based organizations/ associations (and others)

14. Root Cause – Employer Ignorance – Solution #1 Solution: Develop a research paper showing how immigrant skills and contacts can enhance Canadian innovation, entrepreneurship and access to global markets • Use specific examples • Make quantitative, not just qualitative • “Immigrants are the key to the global market” How: Research paper making global business case for hiring immigrants - cite examples, use of promotional tool

15. Root Cause – Employer Ignorance – Solution #2

16. Root Cause – Accountability (Regulators) – Solution #1 Solution: Redefine the appropriate role for regulators (occupational regulatory bodies) How: Research paper on the role of regulatory bodies • Review models of accountability in other jurisdictions • Analyze other approaches to regulatory relationships • Consider the notion of regulating in the “public interest”

17. Root Cause – Accountability (Regulators) – Solution #2 Solution: Create an arms-length ombudsperson's office or a government body that all regulators report to • Create standards that regulatory bodies must follow • Require publishing of stats • Consistency among regulatory policies • Requirement of equity plans for regulators with timelines and targets • Provide expertise to support regulators How: Research paper on feasibility of a centralized accountability model that would operationalize the accountability of regulators

18. Root Cause - Accountability (Government/Employers) – Solution #3 Solution: Critique employment equity legislation in Provincial and Federal Governments How: Research paper to critique employment equity legislation

19. Root Cause - Accountability (Employers) – Solution #4 Solution: Developing "ISO" type certification for employers for equity/diversity practices How: Research idea/models of diversity certification; create respected model of assessing company's ability/track record in hiring "diversity groups"

20. Root Cause - Accountability – Context Piece Create a 'think piece' redefining equity from perspective of immigrant, address a range of issues including: • skills • requirements • language • public interest • credential recognition • bilingualism • accountability of regulators • role of government as an employer

21. Root Cause – Everything! – Context Piece Develop a contextual research paper to outline how to incent urban regional development (outside MTV - Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver) in an equitable manner • this would address regional dispersion strategy of both provincial and federal governments • take focus on the immigrant as the problem, as approach urban regional development from holistic perspective

22. Updates • Provincial Election – “The Road Ahead” • Barb Fisher - Chief of Staff attending PROMPT meeting June 24th • Terms of Reference – process for agreement • PROMPT launch – delayed till September

23. Wrap Up / Meeting Evaluation • Evaluation of meeting • Next meeting • June 24th, Tuesday • 5.30-8.30