Call intensifies for immigrants

The face of British Columbia will become even more diverse if the provincial government takes a recently released report to heart.

On Tuesday, the Immigration Task Force presented their final report confirming that B.C. will need more skilled immigrants to fill job shortages over the next decade.

During a three-month period ,the task force, chaired by Minister of State for Multiculturalism John Yap, consulted with community stakeholders across the province - including in Prince George - about the immigration system, what works and where the government can do better.

The task force's recommendations include an immediate increase to immigration levels, an increase to the B.C. Provincial Nominee Program cap and allowing international students to work in B.C. while they study and after graduation.

But if the government follows through on these recommendations, there will undoubtedly be a need for the necessary services and training to keep immigrants in their new communities, according to Immigration and Multicultural Services Society head Baljit Sethi.

The agency's executive director was able to express these concerns and others to Minister Yap on Thursday during his visit.

"It hurts when I see immigrants leaving and I believe it hurts the community," Sethi said.

The city was one of Yap's first stops as he tours the province to lend an ear to multicultural issues.

"It's so important that diverse communities work well and that we celebrate diversity and find strength in the diversity," Yap said, adding that as an already established multicultural community, Prince George is thriving. "I'm here to talk to members of the community to discover their best practices, challenges and offer what support I can."

According to Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond, agencies such as IMSS need more resources to deal with their growing client base.

"We don't just serve the downtown core, we serve northern British Columbia," Bond said. She added that the BC Jobs Plan needs to align with services available for a geographical area. "We need to support organizations like [IMSS]... if we're going to expect people coming to northern B.C."