Task Force on Access to Professions and Trades in Ontario (1989)

What is this research about?

In the late 1980s, the Task Force on Access to the Professions and Trades in Ontario looked into the requirements for entry to Ontario's professions, occupation by occupation. The Task Force undertook a detailed review of the organizational structures of regulated occupations in Ontario, with a view to determining not only if such structures are giving rise to discriminatory practices but also whether they have the potential to do so, depending upon their use and application.

What did the researchers find?

The Task Force found that few professions were free of discriminatory practices, and that broad, structural solutions were needed to remove systemic barriers to the professions. The Task Force writes that such solutions are "win–win" for the professions and for individuals. It points out that, in coming years, the growing number of immigrants would be increasingly important to the health of the economy because of Ontario's declining birth rate and aging workforce.

Barriers identified included:

• Prior Learning Assessment - there is cause for concern that the prior learning of foreign-trained applicants is not always being adequately and fairly assessed.
• Licensure Testing - Where the same examinations are required of all candidates, these tests_ in many cases have not been subjected to objective test development and analysis procedures reflecting recognized professional standards.
• Language Testing - standardized tests are weak predictors of performance and do not test occupation-specific language.
• Retraining - In the many cases in which a comprehensive assessment of prior learning, based on both academic background and previous experience, is not available to candidates, retraining needs are often not clearly identified.
• Review of Decisions -  Mechanisms for reviewing an occupational body’s decision to refuse a licence or certificate or to attach conditions or limitations to it are, in some occupations, altogether lacking or severely limited.

Solutions for each barrier are outlined in the report.