Saint John is looking into the development of an immigration strategy for the city.
The idea was put forward by councillor Greg Norton, who wrote in his council submission that the case for more immigration to the area has never been greater, and, that a city hall that actively encourages immigration is in a better place to tackle problems like people moving away and an aging labour market.
There’s nothing more measurable than an immigration strategy according to Norton, who says there’s a lot of people doing a lot of heavy lifting that would appreciate councl’s leadership in bringing people together:
“Where those that have the expertise can develop the framework, but we’re the connectors in the community. There’s nobody that plays a better connector role than mayor and council.”
Common Council has voted to have the city manager report back to council with a recommendation on the development of such a strategy.
The city’s Neil Jacobsen notes that there’s no shortage of momentum or passion around the immigration file, pointing to the work of the YMCA, the Multicultural Associations, UNBSJ, Enterprise Saint John and the Human Development Council.
“When you look at the momentum that’s taking place in the city around the immigration theme, I think the biggest opportunity here is alignment and coordination in terms of building off the work that’s already underway.”
The YMCA is currently preparing for a second influx of Syrian newcomers, where the Syrians in Saint John want to bring the rest of their family members here. As well, recently a pilot program was announced that will facilitate 2000 principal immigrants to come to Atlantic Canada.
