The town of Westlock has made several changes to their eligibility requirements for the Rural Renewal Stream (RRS) program as of Aug. 1.
The changes to the program, which helps companies in rural communities hire new immigrants, include the removal of the $24.50/hour minimum wage, applications no longer limited to TEER 0-3 positions and applicants no longer required to have 12 months of residency in the community.
“We had found from speaking with some local business owners, that was going to be challenging for some of them,” said Town of Westlock CAO Simone Wiley. “We kept some of the changes that were implemented at the beginning of July and that's really keeping the balance between our capacity that we have to administer the program and the need in the community, so we're hoping we’re striking the right balance.”
The RRS program is part of the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) which aims to combat Alberta’s labour shortages through the hiring of new immigrants in rural Alberta communities.
Westlock originally joined the program as a designated community in March 2023 but paused their intake of applicants in July 2024 following various issues with the program including lack of housing for employees, retention of workers following permanent residency reception and a backlog of more than 1,800 applicants.
The program was relaunched by the town at a council meeting on June 9 as part of their Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) with several new requirements including the $24.50/hour minimum wage, limited intake window to only the first week of each month, maximum of 10 applications and limiting applications to only TEER 0-3 positions which required applicants to have at least some level of post-secondary education.
The most recent changes were made after only one applicant was accepted into the RRS program under these requirements last month.
The high number of requirements were a concern for Coun. David Truckey at the council meeting where the RRS program was originally reintroduced on June 9.
“Rural renewal has been a fast-track program for many people, but to limit it to these occupations, as well as this wage requirement, is going to severely impact newcomers to our country and community who will not be able to access this at all," Truckey said. "Unfortunately, the federal government's handling of immigration has made the situation extremely difficult for a lot of people. They're simply having the door closed on them because of over-immigration. This will be a limiter; it won't widen opportunities.”
