A disturbing statistic emerged from a public dialogue March 4 on the effect of recent changes to Canada's immigration rules.
Ranjit Gill, manager of the Prince Rupert Safeway said 80-90 per cent of his staff of approximately 180 people is international students and foreign workers.
That's not disturbing in the way the anti-immigration element in our society might see it. It is disturbing because without them, we would soon not have one of our major supermarkets.
We don't know what the stats are for Save On Foods, but if you've ever been in that store, chances are they are in a similar position, as are dozens of other service sector businesses in this city.
The turnout at the aforementioned public dialogue confirms: Prince Rupert, we have a problem.
It's not because they don't want to hire current Canadians, it's because they can't.
Even our Indigenous economic development organizations, whose main purpose is to provide economic opportunities for First Nations members, but rely on foreign workers, are struggling with the new rules that are now threatening their staffing levels.
We are not going to weigh in on whether Canada as a whole has an immigration problem (although we can't see how that's possible considering our death rate is higher than our birth rate meaning we can't grow or even sustain our population/economy without immigrants).
Let's say, for argument's sake, it is a problem in Toronto and/or Vancouver. Send us your immigrants, we want them and we need them on the North Coast of B.C. and, indeed, throughout the Northwest.
Moreover, let's protect the people we already have. They are not just workers, they are an essential element of the fabric of our communities and should be fast-tracked for permanent residency.
And, most importantly, they are people, people whose lives are being disrupted by an ill-conceived policy that does not take into consideration the local conditions that exist here.
As James Warburton, co-owner of the Highliner Hotel pointed out March 4, denying these community members access to healthcare and their kids' access to education while we engage in political tomfoolery, is simply "un-Canadian."
