B.C.'s immigration task force held its first stakeholder consultation in Prince George on Thursday.
On Jan. 11 Premier Christy Clark announced the creation of the task force to review four government programs aimed at increasing the number of skilled immigrants coming to the province.
Task force chairman and Richmond-Steveston MLA John Yap, said the B.C. Natural Resource Forum held in Prince George on Wednesday and Thursday was an ideal place to kick off the task force's consultation.
"We got a real sense that we need to find ways to speed up the process for skilled workers," Yap said. "Prince George is the centre for the great growth in our natural resource sector. It's a sector that's experiencing a shortage of skilled workers."
Yap said the 10-member task force met with representatives from major industry to small businesses to get an understanding of what employers in the north are looking for - and the challenges to recruiting and hiring skilled immigrants.
Although it's not explicitly part of the task force's mandate, Yap said the issue of certifying immigrants' foreign credentials in a timely manner was raised by the presenters.
"Accreditation is a huge and complex issue," he said.
"We did hear a lot about the recognition of credentials."
The mandate of the task force is to review the current system of economic immigration to B.C. and Canada - with a focus on the Provincial Nominee Program, Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class and Federal Immigrant Investor Program.
The 10-member task force includes former federal cabinet minister Stockwell Day, Chinese Canadian community leader Tung Chan, Asia Pacific Foundation CEO Yuen Pau Woo, UBC international advisor Grace Wong, South Asian community leader Suki Badh, Canada-India Foundation chairperson Barj Dhahan, Kang and Company Law Firm founder Narindarpal Singh Kang, Hwang and Company founder Michael Hwang and Initiatives Prince George president Tim McEwan.
McEwan said having the task force make its first stop in Prince George bodes well for the needs of the north being reflected in its final recommendations.
"The opportunities, and the challenges, are in northern B.C.," McEwan said. "What I'm hearing is with the capital projects we've got planned or already underway in northern B.C., is we have major skills shortage."
Northern B.C. is going to, "need every lever it can get," to attract skilled workers to the region, he said.
The task force is charged with presenting its finding to the public and provincial government by March 31.
