ATHABASCA – Town of Athabasca councillors found themselves with more questions than answers following a presentation at their April 4 meeting on the possible uses for the Rural Renewal Stream of the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP), through which the town received Designated Community status March 10.
Following the presentation from community member Lora Major, councillors voted 7-0 in favour of deferring any action to the next tri-council meeting (which consists of Athabasca County, the town, and the Village of Boyle) in early May.
According to the Alberta Government’s website, the AAIP is an economic immigration program that nominates people for permanent residence, provided they have a needed skillset, or the means to start or buy a business in Alberta.
In 2022, Alberta had a total of 6,500 AAIP nominations, which Major referred to as “golden tickets." That number has risen to 9,750 in 2023, and is expected to rise to 10,140 in 2024, and 10,890 in 2025.
The Rural Renewal Stream is community-driven, which means that the onus is on the town to do the leg work before bringing an applicant to the provincial government. If the provincial government deems the candidate eligible, they’re then put forward to the federal government. In an April 3 press conference, the United Conservative Party (UCP) said that 50 per cent of the AAIP nominations are set aside for the Express Entry Stream, which includes healthcare, agriculture, construction, hospitality, and tourism.
About 630 nominations are going to be split between the Rural Entrepreneur and the Rural Renewal streams, although the exact numbers for each were not clear.
Confusion
Following an application made by the old Tourism and Economic Development (TED) committee, Athabasca County received its designated community status, and are now able to actively recruit potential candidates for those “golden tickets.” What that process will look like however, remains a concern.
Part of the issue stems from an empty position; the documents that a potential immigrant needs to bring to the government require multiple signatures, as well as a letter of support from an Economic Development Officer (EDO), which the town doesn’t have.
“It’s really unfortunate that we are relying on that TED position, or the notion of the TED position. I’m worried that we will lose initiative and it’s something that has been present, I’ve talked with a few families in the community that have sponsored immigrants, and it’s a huge tool,” said Coun. Sara Graling, who was a major supporter of the topic during the meeting.
There is currently a TED working group made up of two councillors from each of the three councils, that is in the process of restarting the committee. Councillors discussed appointing an EDO unilaterally but came to the conclusion that it would tax administration an undue amount. In the meantime, the absence has left local administrators like town CAO Rachel Ramey in a lurch.
Ramey said that the town had already started to receive calls from interested applicants but had no idea how they were supposed to handle it, outside of directing them to the county.
“We don’t have an EDO right now, which is a huge problem. No one knows anything about this program, or where we go from here… Even when an immigration consultant had e-mailed asking all these questions, I can’t even respond because I don’t know how to respond, because there’s been no discussions about it. We’re a designated community … OK great, now what?”
