Changes coming to Rural Northern Immigration Pilot program

The Rural Northern Immigration Pilot program is being called a success by Canada's immigration minister Sean Fraser, but since its launch in 2020, he said pandemic border closures didn't give the program a chance to prove its worth for local employers.

That's why among the changes Fraser announced he's making to the program this fall at a town meeting in Timmins Friday, is extending the pilot's deadline to 2024.

"Extending it by a couple of years is going to provide (employers) with the opportunity to continue to bring people here," said Fraser, federal Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

"The other big one is the geographic expansion, to recognize in a lot of rural communities, people don't live and work within the same municipal boundary."

Other changes include expanding the types of jobs employers can offer, including working at lower level positions while newcomers complete additional training, and reducing the financial requirements for newcomers to settle in Canada.

The program has so far brought just more than 1,000 newcomers to its 11 participating communities, including Timmins, Sudbury and North Bay.

"We're very excited, particularly about the boundary expansion, because that's something that our regional communities have really advocated for," said Madison Mizzau, community development consultant at the Timmins Economic Development Corporation, which oversees the Timmins arm of the pilot program.

"There's a lot of opportunity to work with our local employers, within the skilled trades, and we do encourage to definitely reach out to the TEDC, to talk about what their challenges are."

Mizzau said the TEDC is receiving applications from early childhood educators, truck drivers and food service sector workers.

The area is also in need of accountants, bookkeepers, talent recruiters, skilled tradespeople and healthcare workers, according to Northern College's president, Audrey Penner.

"If you talk to some of the various institutions and businesses in the community, it's really quite alarming how many gaps there are," Penner said.

The announcement included a town hall session, where community members voiced concerns about international credentials not being recognized, that would otherwise allow for more skilled immigrants to come to Canada.

The cost of implementing the program was also a point of contention.

"It's a mix of municipal dollars and grants from upper levels of government, which isn't a really sustainable way to have a proper infrastructure for something as important as this," remarked City of Timmins CAO Dave Landers.

Landers asked Fraser if there would be any possibility of sustainable federal funding, similar to its funding of Atlantic Canada's immigration program.

Fraser said the performance of the Rural Northern and immigration Pilot in the next two years will present opportunities to review any adjustments and updates that can be made to make the program more effective and efficient.

He said so far, the program is encouraging.

"My hope is that we will have a permanent program designed for rural and northern communities," Fraser said.

"I expect it will look something like the one that was currently in place."