Rural Immigration Pilot sees success in year one

A pilot project to help immigrant workers stay in Thunder Bay is one year old, and reports are positive.

The Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC) says that 175 employers had candidates receive recommendation for permanent residence through their Rural Immigration Pilot.

CEO Jamie Taylor says that despite federal limits on immigrants, Canada still realizes the need for an influx of skilled workers in smaller communities.

“We do have labour shortages in key sectors that are not able to be filled from our community,” Taylor said. “This is a way that we can ensure that we continue to have growth in our community and employers can find the staff they need to be successful.”

The commission prioritizes sectors hit hardest by labour shortages, such as health care, social work and the trades. They work with employers in these sectors to submit letters recommending immigrant workers for permanent residence.

Taylor says the first year of the project has been a success.

“We haven’t been affected (by immigration policy) in terms of how many candidates we’re able to provide recommendations for. We just hope that it’ll continue in that direction.” Taylor said.

She acknowledges that this announcement may come at an awkward time considering the layoffs at Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper this week, but she says the commissions focus remains on on industries facing workforce gaps.

“There’s still a need for immigration because it’s about the types of positions that we’re filling,” Taylor said. “Largely it’s in the health sector. So it’s not affected by the recent layoffs.”