OTTAWA – Immigration Minister John McCallum says the plan to relocate an immigration processing centre from Vegreville, Alta., to Edmonton will be more efficient and result in a net increase of jobs in Alberta.
Vegreville Mayor Myron Hayduk says the move, scheduled to take place in 2018, will be devastating to his community of 6,000 about 100 kilometres east of Edmonton, as well as surrounding towns.
Shannon Stubbs, the Conservative MP for the area, says the town has been blindsided by the move and she wants McCallum to reconsider.
The centre, which opened in 1994, has been a major employer in Vegreville, processing temporary and permanent residency applications, work permits, visitor records and study permits, while also backing up other centres across the country.
McCallum says there is a strong business case for the decision — an argument Stubbs angrily dismissed Friday during question period in the House of Commons.
“That’s the jobs of 280 people gone, 250 spousal jobs impacted, three local businesses owned by worker families — a quarter of the students in the town’s schools are kids of workers,” Stubbs thundered.
“No consulting, no consideration of costs or spin-off consequences. Will the minister stop this out-of-touch, deliberate attack?”
McCallum insisted there are good reasons for the decision.
“It is a responsibility of the government to spend taxpayers’ money wisely, to improve the efficiency of immigration, to reduce processing times and that is what this move will do,” he said.
He said everyone working in Vegreville will be given the opportunity to work in Edmonton — a solution Stubbs warned could make matters even worse in the town, where the real estate market is already depressed.
There are already 100 houses for sale in the town and forcing workers to move could add another 200 to an existing glut, she said. “Vegreville can’t take another hit.”
McCallum said it’s simply a matter of improving service.
“There are pressures in immigration, there are inefficiencies that have to be improved,” he said.
“Therefore, it is incumbent on us to accept a strong business case which will actually result in a net addition of jobs, but will also result in much greater efficiency that will allow us to provide better customer service and to reduce processing times over time.
“And I point out that all of those currently working in Vegreville will have an opportunity for alternative employment in Edmonton.”
Not everyone can commute to Edmonton or afford to relocate, Stubbs said.
