Ontario banning Canadian work experience requirement on job applications

The Ontario government hopes to ban employers from requiring Canadian work experience in job postings or application forms.

Officials say they hope this will help more qualified candidates progress in the interview process. If passed, the changes will go into effect in December 2023.

“For far too long, too many people arriving in Canada have been funnelled toward dead-end jobs they’re overqualified for,” Labour Minister David Piccini said in a statement.

“We need to ensure these people can land well-paying and rewarding careers that help tackle the labour shortage.”

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The proposal is part of the government’s latest “Working for Workers” legislation. The labour minister has been slowly releasing details of the bill all week, including a requirement to disclose salary ranges in job postings, banning non-disclosure agreements in cases of workplace misconduct, and boosting benefits for injured workers.

It also follows a change made by the province to allow more than 30 non-health-care trade occupations—including engineers, technicians, electricians and plumbers—to remove Canadian work experience from their list of criteria.

Prior to this legislation, workers needed a minimum of one year of Canadian work experience in the field to be licensed.

Professional Engineers Ontario was the first to opt in, which meant that internationally-trained workers could get their license without having worked in Canada.

The new legislation is also set to include expanded eligibility for its Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), allowing international students in one-year college graduate certificate programs to apply.

This year, 16,500 immigrants were nominated for permanent residency through OINP, the government said.