Employers and professional regulators who require “Canadian experience” from newcomers when they apply for a job or accreditation could run afoul of Ontario’s Human Rights Code.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) on Monday launched a new policy directive denouncing the requirement for so-called “Canadian experience” as discriminatory.

Although employers and professional regulatory bodies can’t exclude anyone based on race, ancestry, colour, place of origin and ethnic origin, the new policy targets the requirement that newcomers have Canadian experience when searching for jobs and professional accreditation.

“Some employers are using the Canadian experience requirement as a proxy for discrimination, which they know is illegal. But even when hidden, discrimination in employment is still against the law,” OHRC Chief Commissioner Barbara Hall told a news conference.

“The policy we are launching can help remove these barriers and give employers and regulatory bodies the tools they need to respect human rights. The starting point . . . is a simple one: insisting on Canadian experience is discrimination under the Human Rights Code.”

An online survey by the commission last year — which heard from more than 1,000 respondents, including 130 employers — found that many newcomers turn to unpaid work such as volunteering, internship or low-skilled “survival jobs” to meet the requirement for Canadian work experience.

Newcomers also face obstacles when they try to get professional accreditation since some regulators will not admit new members without prior work experience in Canada.

The issue of the Canadian experience requirement goes back to 1978, when a news article first cited it as a barrier for new immigrants to access jobs, said University of Toronto social work professor Izumi Sakamoto.

“Canada experience provides an overt label for a covert discomfort. We are uneasy around people who are not like us,” said Sakamoto, whose research focuses on the issue of Canadian experience.

“Employers really need to tease out what is at the core of the job requirements. We need to raise awareness how the term Canadian experience is used.”

With a degree in science and 13 years of experience working in administration and community development, Endrit Mullisi came to Canada in 2009 from Albania with his wife and daughter. Despite sending out hundreds of resumés, he got only three job interviews.

“We need to work towards changing the mentality of employers that Canadian experience is the only professional experience in the world that has high standards,” said Mullisi, who volunteered at a community agency for seven months before he got hired on a one-year contract.

“We need to work together to create a culture where people are valued based on what they can do and not if they did it in Canada or elsewhere.”

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According to the province, 15 of the 38 regulated professions in Ontario currently require Canadian work experience. Six of them specifically ask for Ontario experience as part of the licensing criteria.