A number of local business people attended the town of Strathmore’s committee of the whole meeting this week to present an option to fill a lack of low skilled workers in town.
There is a labour shortage in Strathmore.
Kevin Korpi, Restaurant Owner for Tim Hortons, and Usman Jutt, Restaurant Owner for McDonalds, discussed the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) and how it can benefit businesses in the Strathmore area
There was also a delegation from The Roadhouse, Strathmore Station, the Travelodge, and eight letters of support from Strathmore area businesses.
The accessibility to labour is a huge challenge right now, explained Jutt. Korpi said, “We’re all concerned about the labour situation in town.” He said they are concerned about the impact it will have on their businesses. Benefits of the new program include a pool of talented non-skilled workers for every business in town to access.
“Strathmore could become recognized as an AAIP community,” said Korpi, “It will give us a leg up and it will be a building block of a strong economy."
First, a committee must be formed to administer the program. The delegation asked for support from the town, and for the town to take this on as a project and start by making an application. The program would be administered locally by a committee that could be made up of a member of the town administration, a member of the chamber of commerce, and the town’s economic developing officer. They will require a letter of support from the town council when the application is being made.
One benefit of the program would be that new workers would be tied to the community as they would have the ability to gain permanent residency in Canada as a low-skilled worker, rather than current programs for temporary foreign workers.
One question brought up by Councillor Denise Peterson was the acceptance of workers from crisis areas in the world like Syria, Afghanistan, or Ukraine where Canada has already made prior commitments for immigration. She noted there is a high level of interest from places like Syria and Afghanistan.
Another question from Councillor Melissa Langmaid was clarification on the topic of housing, and where the workers will reside when there is a housing shortage and rents are very high at the moment.
The delegation estimated that there could be about 100 new applications in the program each year. The meeting revealed that the employers will have an obligation to provide accommodation for the workers.
Korpi said they are not looking for a handout, and that they will pay their part to make sure the project is not a cost to the town.
The town administration will return before council with a comprehensive report in the near future.
Fri, May 3, 10:00 AM
