City Council got a look at an upgraded immigration strategy plan that focuses on the retention of immigrants.
Over 600 individuals were consulted and provided feedback which was used to develop the plan.
It features ways to prevent Moncton from becoming a ‘trampoline city’ for the immigrants it attracts.
David Campbell of Jupia Consultants says many pieces need to be in place in order to get them to stay.
“On the healthcare side, on the education side, on the settlement side, so what this strategy does is look at all the pieces and lays down an action plan to ensure we can attract and retain an increasing number of immigrants in the coming years,” he says.
Campbell says more funding will be required to ensure newcomers have access to necessary services.
He says immigrants are crucial in ensuring the city’s economic growth in spite of an aging population.
Campbell says post-secondary institutions play a role in ensuring international students want to stay in Moncton.
“Some of the main reasons that international students are coming here is because it’s cheaper to study and cheaper to live. One of the biggest frustrations is when you come in as an international student and you take a program, you graduate and you want to get a job but there’s no jobs,” says Campbell.
It’s important for schools to make sure the students it attracts are going into programs that can fill jobs within the community.
However, Campbell says part of the issue is the reluctance of the locals to let immigrants in.
“And I would say that’s not just an immigration thing. If you flooded in a whole bunch of people from Alberta or other parts of Canada I think you’d get the same thing, people thinking ‘why are they all coming, are they taking our jobs’ so we need to make sure we’re clear on why we need them, what we’re doing to attract them and that’s part of the public engagement and awareness strategy,” he says.
He says it’s not enough to just give them the jobs they want, they need to feel like they are an important part of the community.
The public engagement and awareness aspect of the plan will include tangible ways for locals to connect with immigrant families.
Campell says Greater Moncton needs to be an economic engine for the province to be able to pay for public services like education and healthcare.
