The paper prepared for Expert Group Meeting on Migration and Education: Quality Assurance and Mutual Recognition of Qualifications, UNESCO, Paris, 2008 Canada has a long history of having a proactive immigration policy, and government-funded programs delivered through a network of community-based non-government organizations that assist in the settlement and integration of immigrants.

Although there has been much attention given to selecting and integrating immigrants with the qualifications and skills identified as necessary for the Canadian labour market, the actual labour market outcomes (income and employment levels) have not been at the level expected.

The focus of this paper is on Foreign Credential Recognition (FCR), which can narrowly be described as the assessment and recognition of formal academic credentials. However, the underlying dialogue and meaning of FCR relates to broader themes of immigration and labour market integration. Therefore, the paper attempts to examine FCR from a perspective that looks at the relationships between immigrants and Canadian society at large, and the multiple issues involved in credential recognition, which include not only the recognition of an individual’s paper credentials, but of their language and communication skills, workplace competencies and experience, and even national origin.