A motion that will see District of Sechelt mayor and council send a letter to the federal government in support of temporary foreign workers living and working on the Sunshine Coast, was passed at a regular meeting of council, June 18.
The motion asked for support in sending a letter to Patrick Weiler, MP for West Vancouver – Sunshine Coast – Sea to Sky Country, for assistance in renewing work permits so that the families of temporary foreign workers can stay in Canada.
Mayor John Henderson bought the motion forward in response to changes by the federal government, which on Jan. 21, added restrictions to its open work permit (OWP) eligibility for family members of international students and foreign workers. In addition, the foreign worker must also have at least 16 months remaining on their work permit at the time when their spouse applies for the OWP. Dependent children of foreign workers will no longer be eligible to apply for an OWP.
Henderson also wants the Sunshine Coast to be included in the government's Rural Community Immigration Program. Through the program, 14 communities across BC have been chosen for a pilot project and given an opportunity to show they can support and benefit from skilled migrants. These communities are approving certain employers to hire for jobs they can’t fill with local workers.
At the meeting, Coun. Alton Toth said he had spoken to Weiler on the phone that day about the issue.
“He gave me a little bit more of a background on this issue. He did emphasize that he is already advocating for changes to the program that would see a split between the rural and the urban environments, because he recognizes that urban and rural communities are not the same, and so we need programs for rural communities that are different,” said Toth.
He noted, some of the changes include reducing the number of temporary foreign workers from 20 per cent to 10 per cent at a given company, and also reducing permits from two years to one.
“So, you basically have to renew your temporary foreign worker permit every year with the changes that came through. So overall, MP Weiler is supportive of the motion that's in front of us tonight and welcomes the letter of support,” said Toth, who added he had made some adjustments to the original motion.
The motion was passed unanimously at the June 18 meeting. It was first presented to council by Henderson June 4, but was defeated by one vote. At the time, three councillors were unavailable to vote.
