It’s anticipated that Sault Ste. Marie will welcome dozens of skilled newcomers to the local labour force under an economic immigration project announced last year by the federal government.
On Wednesday, Sault Ste. Marie MP Terry Sheehan and Sault Mayor Matthew Shoemaker were joined by various stakeholders at the Ronald A. Irwin Civic Centre to announce the allocation of 300 spots for the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP), which will provide 18 communities with a permanent residence pathway for newcomers looking to work and live in Canada.
Sheehan says the allocation for the Sault — driven by labour market demand — will help support population growth locally, as well as the economic spinoffs that come with it.
“We see people that lived here returning because our businesses are growing, our community is growing,” Sheehan told SooToday. “We’re seeing Canadians looking at what’s happening here in Sault Ste. Marie and deciding they want to live here.
“We’re growing again, and it’s great — so we need to have these positions filled in order to support that growth.”
The City of Sault Ste. Marie will work with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to identify labour gaps, tap employers and recommend candidates for permanent residence as part of the project.
“The critical aspect of this program is that you have to be unable to fill a job locally before you can look to it to fill a job,” said Shoemaker following the announcement.
“It’s not, as some people accuse it of being, immigrants stealing our jobs — it is matching the right skill set with a job that would otherwise go unfilled, and a position that would end up having to leave town or just go unfilled and be a detriment to the local economy because someone is not performing that task.
“So it is a real benefit to have these skilled immigrants to be able to fill the jobs locally.”
The RCIP is the successor to the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP), a similar program which supported nearly 250 employers in the Sault by bringing in newcomers to fill labour gaps locally.
Arlene Smith, director of human resources at Algoma Family Services, used the RNIP as a pathway to permanent residency.
“The north is more than I anticipated,” said Smith, who is originally from Jamaica. “The north is cold, yes — but it’s a good move and I don’t regret it. I encourage others to do the same.”
Lackeisha Currie, labour force development coordinator for the City of Sault Ste. Marie, says there’s a need for individuals to fill a number of jobs locally, whether it’s within the realm of skilled trades or the health-care and manufacturing sectors.
That’s why Currie remains confident that Sault Ste. Marie will have very little problem in filling the 300 spots allocated locally under the RCIP.
“The need is still there — I have employers calling me every day, saying ‘I have this employee, they’ve been a year, two years, looking for a pathway’ and they don’t want to lose that employee,” Currie told SooToday.
“It took them two years to find that particular employee, so the need is great.”