Sask. wants more control over immigrant selection as hospitality jobs go unfilled

Saskatchewan’s hospitality industry is in dire need of employees, as 5,000 jobs are currently unfilled.

“We do have to look at employment from outside of our borders. Now whether that’s outside of Saskatchewan borders and looking at other provinces or outside of the Canadian borders, we have to make sure that we’re exploring all options,” Jim Bence from Hospitality Saskatchewan said.

Farmers are also in need of workers as harvest approaches.

Saskatchewan wants more control over immigration. It said the federal approval process is moving along too slowly.

“I mean they’re taking upwards of 40 months right now to actually process immigration requests. We’re taking between two to six weeks on the selection side of the equation so you know 40 months is just not acceptable,” minister of immigration Jeremy Harrison said.

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One source of new workers for Saskatchewan has been the influx of people fleeing the war in Ukraine. Another flight with 230 people is expected this month but there are concerns that the federal government may soon cap the number of applications under the emergency Visa program.

It’s something Harrison feels would be a monumental mistake.

“I wish the federal government would be there with more supports,” Harrison said. “I wish the federal government would be more active in their approach on this file but they’re not and that’s why we as a province have stepped up to do these things.”

Saskatchewan hopes to bring many more flights of displaced Ukrainians to Canada. It says it will soon have done more to help as a single province than the federal government’s entire effort.