July 30, 2008

Alberta beefs up support for temporary foreign workers

Pilot project offers immigration support services

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

The government of Alberta has quietly launched a new initiative to provide immigration support services to temporary foreign workers (TFWs) in the province.

The move is designed to augment already existing services.

Late last year, the Alberta government opened two TFW worker advisory offices in Edmonton and Calgary at a cost of $1 million a year.

The offices provide employment standards or help resolve occupational health and safety issues.

However, there was a gap in the service because other concerns, which fell outside employment standards and workplace safety, such as housing issues and illegal recruitment fees, were not being addressed by either the federal or provincial governments.

In an effort to fill this gap, the provincial government recently launched a $1.4-million pilot project to provide immigration support services to those workers.

“There wasn’t a public launch or formal announcement, because it is a pilot project,” said Jennifer Raimundo, spokesperson for the ministry of employment and immigration.

“The pilot project started last month and provided funding to nine immigrant servicing agencies in six cities, including Fort McMurray, Grand Prairie, Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary and Brooks.”

According to Raimundo, the province had previously worked with the federal government to fund immigrant service agencies, but this funding was for immigrants only.

“Temporary foreign workers are coming to immigrant support agencies for support, so they have been given funding for additional staff to provide basic services,” she said.

“These services include orientation, which covers things like taking the bus, banking, grocery shopping and how to dress in cold weather.

It will also provide referrals for housing, education, legal services, interpretation and job applications.”

These services are designed to enhance and compliment the work by the TFW worker advisory offices.

“The government never announced the pilot project,” said Jim Gurnett, executive director of the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers.

“They have just gone ahead and done it. Those of us getting the funding think it is a positive step.”

Gurnett said it is nice for people in immigrant services to provide these services for temporary foreign workers, because some of these people are in a bad situation.

“The idea is to complement a group of their own staff (the provincial government) that deals with temporary foreign workers,” he said.

“We will connect people with employer problems to the advisory offices. If the issue is language, health or housing, the advisory office will connect them with us.”

The provincial government funding will allow the Mennonite Centre for Newcomers to hire four new people.

Gurnett said there is still a gap in the service provided because English classes are not covered under the pilot project.

According to figures from the federal department of Citizenship and Immigration, there were 22,392 temporary foreign workers in Alberta in 2006, more than double the 11,067 in 2003.

TFWs are employed in a wide range of economic sectors in Alberta, including oil sands operations and the construction trades.

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