Looking back at Rural Renewal Stream’s first year

BARRHEAD - The number of applications to the Rural Renewal Stream is slowing down.

That is according to County of Barrhead development and communications coordinator Adam Vanderwekken, who updated councillors on the program during their Feb. 6 meeting.

"However, interest in the program remains steady," he said, adding two employers expressed interest in January, but the program hasn't had any new enrolments in the new year.

The Rural Renewal Stream enables rural communities with less than 100,000 people to attract and retain immigrants by working with local employers and settlement-providing organizations to offer employment and support services, including housing, language training, health care, and education. The stream requires that communities apply for designation through the provincial government. Designated communities have the Rural Renewal Stream designation for two years, with the option to extend for a third.

Since its introduction, the province has given out 34 such community designations. Barrhead (town and county) received its accreditation in early November 2023.

The program is part of the province's Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP). The AAIP is part of the province's effort to combat the province's labour shortage. It does this by helping employers recruit foreign nationals to apply for jobs.  

Once a community receives a Rural Renewal Stream designation, a local council or a settlement organization can endorse a potential immigrant by writing a letter of support. 

So far, Vanderwekken stated that the county, which administers the program for the municipalities, has endorsed 77 candidates, roughly half of whom are temporary foreign workers at 37, with the remaining 40 from abroad.

"Mostly from India," Vanderwekken said.

Since the beginning of the program, 108 job vacancies have been posted, and 27 positions are currently available.

"The others have been filled, either by employees from the Rural Renewal Stream or elsewhere," he said.

Vanderwekken noted it is a lengthy process; once the candidate receives their endorsement letter, they apply to the province for their provincial nomination, and if successful, they can apply for their permanent residency through the federal government.

Simultaneously, he said, the candidate then can apply for either a work permit or, if already in Canada, an extension of their work permit, and come to the community and work with the support agencies, specifically local churches and Barrhead and District Family Support Services to help them get settled.

To become an eligible employer, employers must have at least one full-time vacancy (a minimum of 30 hours a week that is not seasonal) available. 

"A unique point of the program is that [employers] do not have to complete a labour market assessment, which other temporary foreign worker programs require, and that can be quite a hurdle for a small business," he said.

Vanderwekken added that candidate eligibility criteria include education, language proficiency, work experience, and other immigration-related requirements. He also noted that approved candidates must reside in the community.

"The province also allows communities to add additional restrictions based on the needs of the community depending on their needs," he said.

Vanderwekken said initially, the county chose not to impose additional restrictions on their endorsement letters. However, that recently changed in November 2023 when they required all candidates to be already working in Canada with temporary work permits.

"[We did it] to primarily support our employers," he said, adding that provincial nomination wait times were six months when they made the decision. "Once the [candidate] receives their nomination, it can take up to another 18 months, depending on where they are coming from.

Most employers are in the town at 16, while five are in the county.

"But there are several employers whose physical location is in the town and do work in the county, and vice-versa, so there is some overlap," Vanderwekken said.

Most endorsed candidates are or will be employed in the food services industry or disability support services (such as IT and marketers) at 20 a piece; 12 are in retail, 10 are in specialized services, six are labourers, and four are in the financial industry. 

Although he said there had been five Renewal Stream postings in the trades, they still need to be filled.

"It is very difficult to get any endorsed candidates in the trades because their qualifications need to be in Alberta," Vanderwekken said.

Of the 72 candidates the county endorsed before Dec. 31, only 11 received provincial nominations, and none received permanent residency.

At least as far as the county knows, he said, adding the provincial and federal governments do not supply those statistics, instead relying on the candidates updating the county.

Other challenges, besides lack of communication from higher levels of government, Vanderwekken said, include long wait times, and the need for more available and affordable housing once the candidates arrive.

"Especially those coming from abroad, and we are collaborating with stakeholders, the town and support agencies such as [Barrhead and District Family Support Services]," he said. "FCSS does keep a list of available rentals in the community, but promoting more rentals to come up is another focus."

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com