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Welcoming Immigrants

By Pat Atkinson

Good evening.

Aside from our Aboriginal peoples, we are all newcomers to this province. We just celebrated Saskatchewan’s one hundredth birthday in 2005.

And since its beginnings over 100 years ago, Saskatchewan has been enriched by people who have come here in search of opportunity and a better life.

Our provincial motto – “From many peoples, strength” – has been reaffirmed by the courage, determination, and unlimited potential our immigrants have shared by choosing Saskatchewan as their home. Just look at the news coverage of the recent census data. Immigration is already fuelling two-thirds of Canada’s population growth. The data suggest that by 2030, immigration will be the only source of Canada’s population growth. Thanks largely to immigration, Canada’s rate of population increase was the highest of the G8 industrialized nations between 2001 and 2006.

The government of Saskatchewan has a plan that, as of next year, we will be attracting 5,000 newcomers a year to this province.

We are ahead of schedule toward meeting that goal. And Saskatoon is an important destination for our immigrants. The highest number of nominees under the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program are destined for this area.

Immigrants and refugees bring a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience to our province. The importance of attracting them is increasingly obvious. They have skills and talents we need, and we need to help them to make the best use those skills and talents.

Our government recognizes that immigration is an effective instrument to support the labour market, and to support population and economic growth for Saskatchewan. We need to attract sufficiently high numbers of immigrants and keep them here. People thrive in welcoming communities. Community supports are critical to a successful immigration strategy.

If we want immigrants to stay here, and to effectively contribute to our social and economic fabric, we need to give them the opportunity to make full use of their skills and knowledge. A booming economy provides rich opportunities for jobs in Saskatchewan and for the new Canadians we welcome into our province.

One year ago, the government greatly increased its investment in immigration, from $1.7 million in the previous year, to $6.3 million in the year just ending. We also increased our support for language and employment training programs, literacy and essential skills programs, and other services for newcomers. Two weeks ago, we added $977,000 to those supports, province-wide.

That was a major boost to our immigration strategy, a comprehensive strategy that will attract more immigrants to Saskatchewan, and help them settle in our communities and fit into labour force.

In 2006, for the first time, nominations exceeded 1,000. Since each nominee brings, on average two other family members, this potentially means about 3,000 newcomers to the province.

The family members category within the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program is one reason for our success. It allows immigrants and refugees who can support family members from abroad to bring them here.

Thank you all for helping make immigrants and refugees feel welcome and at home in our province.