During operating budget deliberations on Tuesday evening, North Bay City Council made good on a pledge from June 2024 regarding support for a new local immigration program.
A show of hands confirmed the council's support to add a budget line of $12,500 for each of the next five years, for a total of $62,500, to help the North Bay and District Chamber of Commerce fund the RCIP, the federal government's newest immigration pilot.
As he did in June 2024, when the topic was before the council, Coun. Mark King expressed concerns about the effects the immigration programs have on the existing housing crisis and the shortage of physicians in North Bay.
See related: King: Housing, health care needs should trump immigration
"I recognize there is a shortage of workers. We've listened to that for a number of years," King continued. "It's now in crisis mode when it comes to doctors and the health care system. Bringing more people into the community, what is the overall impact, and how do we find a way around this situation? It's not that I don't want to support the resolution, but it's absolutely incumbent upon FedNor to start to answer these questions that are circulating in northern Ontario."
The spirit of King's sentiment was repeated in the fifth-floor boardroom of North Bay City Hall on Tuesday evening but was met with resistance from both the deputy mayor and the mayor, who defended the project and led the support from around the table.
Deputy Mayor Maggie Horsfield maintained that the place of origin of the newcomer to our city mattered little when it came to King's concerns. A new resident from an international location was no different than someone moving here from elsewhere in Canada.
CAO John Severino suggested the program could lead to an influx of internationally-trained physicians ready to go through the process to practice in Canada — and North Bay.
On March 6, 2024, Immigration and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced a new pilot project entitled the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP), replacing the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP). In 2019, in a joint Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development venture, North Bay was selected as one of 11 communities from across Canada to host the RNIP pilot program. With the launch of the new program, the same organizations again teamed up to serve as the host of one of the 15 national RCIPs outside of Quebec.
In June 2024, the Chamber of Commerce estimated the cost of delivering the new five-year pilot program at approximately $1.25 million and requested the financial contribution of the City of North Bay toward the new RCIP program. The City’s contribution represents 50 per cent of the required 10 per cent total project contribution made by the applicant. The remaining 50 per cent of the required applicant contribution will come from the Chamber and other partner communities.
The City's Economic Development Department invested $63,100 into the original program, through approved annual operating budgets/initiatives, to help the Chamber leverage a total program valued at $836,500. The program received 4,113 applications and processed 638 community recommendations supporting individuals and their families, representing 844 newcomers to the community. As of May 2024, 294 individuals who received a recommendation attained their permanent residency status. The pilot program resulted in participation from 288 employers who successfully filled 638 positions, filling all of the spaces allotted to North Bay under the program in the past couple of years.
In late January, MP Anthony Rota announced the official launch of the new streams of immigration pilots.
See: New immigration pilot project should help fill labour shortage gaps
Rota highlighted North Bay as one of the communities selected to participate in the Rural Community Immigration Pilot.
"The Rural Community Immigration Pilot ensures that rural communities have access to programs that address labour shortages and help local businesses find the workers they need."