NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO — Representatives for the region’s municipalities are throwing their support behind new provincial rules they say can help fill needed labour gaps.
The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association, or NOMA, is backing new “as-of-right” rules the Ford government said went into effect at the beginning of the new year. They aim to speed up the process for dozens of accredited professionals to work in Ontario if they are licensed and in good standing in another Canadian jurisdiction.
“This is great news for, specifically, Northwestern Ontario, but also all of Ontario (for) that matter,” NOMA president and Marathon Mayor Rick Dumas told Newswatch. “This opens up all those opportunities and avenues for people to move around.”
An Ontario government media release said the new rules apply to fields such as architecture, engineering, electrical, geoscience and land surveying. In total, more than 50 regulated professions outside of healthcare are included, the province said.
Additionally, the new rules also cover 16 more healthcare-related fields, such as dentists, dental hygienists and technologists, midwives, occupational therapists, pharmacists and others.
The new regulations mean certified professionals from other Canadian provinces and territories can now start working in Ontario within 10 business days of the respective regulatory body confirming their credentials. That working period will last for up to six months, while the worker completes their full Ontario registration, according to a government publication.
Dumas said Northwestern Ontario municipalities have been advocating for this type of system and fewer restrictions on labour movement for years now.
“For NOMA, we’ve had discussions about lifting these barriers well before tariffs, just talking about, specifically, medical (jobs) and red-sealing,” he said. In a NOMA media release welcoming the move, Dumas also pointed to construction, mining, forestry, transportation and manufacturing as sectors that would benefit.
“I think it gives us opportunities,” Dumas said. “We’ve got a lot of huge opportunities in mining and, of course, still in the forestry sector.”
“I know it’s been having some hiccups along the way, but we’re still 100 per cent pushing the forestry sector,” he continued. “We have a lot of fibre in our backyard … so let’s get those trees building our homes in Ontario and building our homes in Canada.”
“These reforms are particularly important for Northwestern Ontario, where labour shortages can delay major infrastructure projects, strain essential services and limit local economic opportunities,” NOMA’s media release said.
Dumas said it gives the region another opportunity to market itself to prospective residents.
“This lifts those barriers all across those sectors and allows individuals to move and come to where they think their great economic opportunities are,” he said. “We have the economic opportunities in Northwestern Ontario.”
“It gives opportunities for people to move and … inter-provincially, it gives people opportunities to move to Ontario,” Dumas continued.
“I’m encouraging them to move to Northwestern Ontario to look at our communities as a vibrant place to live.”
