here permanently and to become a citizen. This is due to a steady stream of changes by the federal government that affect virtually all aspects of our immigration and refugee policy.” Schalm says it’s too early to interpret the results of the big


change, but he does think there are already fewer doctors driving cabs. There are other forces at work. For one thing, a wide variety of


professional organizations are developing bridging programs designed to make it easier for foreign-trained immigrants to earn Canadian credentials. Manny Gauba, CPA, CA, MBA, chairs the Toronto chapter of


the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). The ICAI works closely with CPA Canada in identifying the common competencies that exist (or not) between the Indian and Canadian curricula. These analyses of skills gaps help assess foreign credentials on an individualized basis, compare them to the nearest Canadian equivalent and help the newcomers identify the requirements in Canada needed to achieve the credentials they desire. They’re also proof that professional bodies want foreign-trained members — as long as they have the chops. “Years of close cooperation resulted in a memorandum of


understanding in 2011 allowing Indian CAs to bypass some of the basic accounting credits required previously and the practi- cal training requirements in Canada,” Gauba says. “This did not exist five years ago,” he says. (The MOU is suspended and under review; the new process will be complete by early 2017.) Then there’s this: immigrants are a self-selecting group.


They’re determined, independent, brave, diligent and extremely ambitious. Gauba received his Indian CA in 1985, embraced Canada as his new home in 1996, became a US CPA in 2001, earned an MBA in 2004 and became a Canadian CPA in 2013.


“The important thing,” he says, “is not the duration. The im-


portant thing is that you’re prepared to take the path of working for years at something that you are overqualified for.” The truck-driving pediatrician decided not to requalify as a


doctor here, but now runs a multidisciplinary health clinic in Brampton. And remember Mihai and Cecilia Baetu? They live in a stylish


condo in the heart of Toronto’s artsy Distillery District. Al- though Cecilia was a qualified engineer in Romania, she never worked in the field. Her heart wasn’t in it. Instead she enrolled in a one-year dental assistant course and then a two-year course to qualify as a dental hygienist. Mihai had a bachelor of economics from Romania, but


here he eventually got his CA designation and then an MBA. He did this while working at an assortment of full- and part- time jobs. In 2014, the erstwhile Timmies night baker was named manager of administration and finance at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation.


PETER CARTER is a Toronto-based freelance writer MORE ON IMMIGRATION


Go to CPAmagazine’s online edition for two web-exclusive features from our special immigration issue:


● A brief history of immigration to Canada cpacanada.ca/mag-history


● Immigration consulting, the CPA way cpacanada.ca/mag-consult


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