A small town northwest of Thunder Bay, Ont., has become the unlikely home for hundreds of foreign workers, but many may have to leave the community they’ve embraced after the end of a federal program put in place to fill gaps in Canada’s labour market.
Since 2019, foreign workers have been coming to Sioux Lookout through the federal Rural Northern Immigration Pilot Program (RNIP). It connected skilled workers to employers in small rural communities in need of labour while offering a pathway to permanent residency.
But RNIP ended in August, leaving many workers and employers uncertain about what comes next because the program replacing it doesn’t include Sioux Lookout.
Palak Gulati is a customer service supervisor at grocery store Fresh Market, where she’s been working on an open visa.
Gulati chose Sioux Lookout, 350 kilometres from Thunder Bay, after studying in Toronto with the intention of continuing on to the RNIP program and eventually applying for permanent residency.
Gulati never imagined she’d end up in a place like Sioux Lookout. But now, she doesn’t want to leave.
“I was never a girl who wanted to stay in a small town,” she said. “I always wanted to be in Toronto or Calgary.” But the small remote community is “peaceful” and has allowed her to tap into a “quieter” side of herself, she said.
After RNIP ended in August, she stayed in Sioux Lookout. She liked the town and her job, and there was an expectation Sioux Lookout would be included in the new program set to replace RNIP.
Why Sioux Lookout isn’t in new federal program
The Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) was billed as an extension of the RNIP.
Similar to RNIP, RCIP was designed to bring foreign workers to parts of the country that were less populated and in need of skilled workers. But the boundaries of the new program changed, which is why Sioux Lookout was left out in the cold.
When asked why Sioux Lookout was not included in the RCIP, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said in a statement that all communities had the opportunity to apply to be part of RICP and to reach out to “contact Thunder Bay for more information.”
RCIP is administered by community-based economic development organizations, through funding and oversight from IRCC. Only organizations with a successful track record in implementing multi-year projects qualify. Sioux Lookout does not have an organization that is eligible to administer RCIP on its own.
Fresh Air10:22Sioux Lookout Cut from Immigration Program, Leaving Workers and Businesses in Limbo
Host Ismaila Alfa explores the impact of recent federal immigration changes on Sioux Lookout, a vital hub for Northern Ontario. The town has relied on a program that brought skilled foreign workers to fill crucial jobs, but with its removal from the program, businesses and workers now face an uncertain future. CBC’s Shyloe Fagan reports from the community’s only grocery store to hear firsthand how the cuts are affecting daily life.
Thunder Bay’s Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC) had been administering RNIP in Sioux Lookout along with nearly the entire Rainy River District, Dryden and Thunder Bay District. But when RCIP came up, Thunder Bay decided that was too large a catchment area to include in its responsibility.
Thunder Bay’s CEDC must ensure employers hiring foreign workers through RCIP meet the requirements and standards of the program.
Jamie Taylor, CEO of Thunder Bay’s CEDC, said it “is very challenging for us in Thunder Bay to validate an employer in a community like Sioux Look because they don’t have ties to the businesses or community, and if they make mistakes, it could put the program at risk for their own service delivery area.”
That means after Gulati’s visa expires, for instance, she would have to go to one of the communities included in RCIP to pursue permanent residency.
At her workplace, Fresh Market, the only independent grocery store in Sioux Lookout, immigration has been an essential part of how it has grown its business.
Store owner Todd Nadon said foreign workers make up nearly half of his over 200-person staff. They’ve helped him take business from a place where they were struggling to keep the shelves full to where they are today, with in-house butchers, bakers and pastry chefs, Nadon said.
Aimad Elhani is another of the foreign workers who’ve helped Nadon grow his business while creating a life for himself in Sioux Lookout. Elhani started as a baker after spending 10 years as a pastry chef in Dubai.
Elhani also was able to become a permanent resident, but has friends who will be affected by the immigration changes. They are frustrated Sioux Lookout was not included in RCIP and are considering moving to Thunder Bay, he said.
Nadon said the reduction in immigration to Canada could put some of his store’s services at risk. In addition to serving the town of Sioux Lookout, Fresh Market works with 28 fly-in First Nations, shipping food north, a task that would be harder to do with fewer staff.
‘I don’t know what to do’
Nadon added that getting staff to the community is difficult.
“Sioux Lookout can be a bit of a shock,” he said.
The remoteness and isolation can lead to loneliness, a challenge when it comes to recruiting workers. Another concern is housing. But to address these barriers, Fresh Market provides new staff with apartments.
The housing is offered to workers from both Canada and abroad at a reduced rate, to help give them settle in Sioux Lookout and keep them invested in the community, Nadon said.
Satveer Kaur Sandhu, a customer service supervisor at Fresh Market who came to Sioux Lookout through RNIP, is another worker who’s concerned she may have to move and about the prospects of permanent residency.
Sandhu said the changes in immigration programs have left her shaken and unsure about her future.
“I don’t know what to do,” Sandhu said.
She wants people to understand how the changes are “affecting people at ground level” both mentally and physically.
Nadon said the hardest part is losing people who have helped contribute to making his business great.
Efforts to reduce barriers for foreign workers
There are other government options available to foreign workers who want to come to Sioux Lookout.
For instance, the federal Express Entry program is competitive and ranks applicants based on their age, education and language proficiency. The Ontario Immigrate Nominee Program (OINP) nominates workers for permanent residency who have skills the province’s economy needs, but limited spots are available.
The municipality of Sioux Lookout is collaborating with regional partners to advocate for more OINP slots and reduce barriers in bringing foreign workers to the community.