Global Trade Alert

On 17 June 2009, MP Paul Dewar of the opposition New Democratic Party introduced Bill C-425 to the House of Commons. The Bill, also known as the Foreign Credentials Recognition Act, calls on the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development to work with the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration in order to establish model practices for the recognition of foreign credentials in a transparent and efficient manner. The Act also calls on the Ministry of Human Resources and Skills Development to establish a fund for financing municipal and provincial projects aimed at integrating foreign-trained professionals into jobs in Canada.
 
MP Dewar is not a member of the Federal Government and the Government of Canada has not endorsed Bill C-425. Although the Bill has been introduced to the House of Commons, Members of Parliament have yet to vote on it.
 
The New Democratic Party currently holds 36 seats in the House of Commons, out of a total of 308 seats. In December 2008, the New Democratic Party formed a coalition with the Liberal Party (77 seats) and the Bloc Québécois (48 seats) in order to topple the Conservative Party's minority government (143 seats). Parliament was prorogued until late January 2009, at which point the coalition agreement ceased to function. Opposition parties effectively control a majority of seats in Parliament, but do not have a formal understanding on the passage of Private Member's Bills introduced by opposition members.
 
The House of Commons is in recess until 14 September 2009. Speculation of a general election in fall 2009 is rife, but has not been confirmed by the Government. The last general election was held on 14 October 2008, before the worst of the global recession had become apparent and protectionist measures had been adopted by some of Canada's trading partners.
 
The Parliament reinstated the Bill on 26 March 2011 for the last time (40th Parliament, 3rd session) and it has never received the approval of the Parliament.