The Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce is urging the GNWT to make some important changes to how the Territory handles Immigration.
In a recent media release, the Chamber highlights a number of different immigration issues that will soon have a very noticeable impact on the employment rates around the city. Citing an internally conducted survey, the Chamber reports that many local businesses rely on employees who have work permits that will be expiring in the next two years, sharing that an estimated 4.97% of Yellowknife’s workers will be affected. They also report that the City has an unemployment rate of just 4%, leaving very little room for local businesses to replace any lost workers.
The Chamber has shared a few proposals that could help relieve this issue, both in the short-term, and over a longer period of time.
The short-term ideas include:
- Increasing the allocations of the Northwest Territories Nominee Program. The Chamber believes that the Nominee Program is not living up to its full potential citing how hundreds of applications were submitted when only ninety positions were made available, forcing businesses to work through severe staffing shortages.
- Extending work permits that are about to expire. Many Northern businesses make valuable use of workers through work permits, and suddenly losing them to expiring permits can create economic issues, especially when there is not enough of a workforce to replace them. The Chamber predicts that if work permits are not extended, businesses may be forced to reduce their services, cut back on operation hours, or even close down entirely.
When it comes to longer-term solutions, one of the Chamber’s ideas is to call for the NWT to be exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment, which is often done for other communities that are facing similar workforce challenges.
Their other long-term idea is for the NWT to come up with a regional immigration strategy that will help with its specific needs. The cite an example in the Atlantic Immigration Program that is used in the maritime provinces, which has seen success in bringing in workers and helping them to stay at their jobs.
The Chamber of Commerce is urging both the GNWT and the Federal Government to take proper considerations for the needs of the workforce in the North in order to reflect the recent push for Arctic Sovereignty.
