Work has begun to establish a roundtable of stakeholders in the Cowichan Valley to discuss how to best manage the growing influx of immigrants in the region to the benefit of the community and the immigrants.
The board at the Cowichan Valley Regional District agreed at its meeting on Feb. 14 to provide a letter of support for the initiative, and to designate a representative from the CVRD to sit at the table.
The CVRD agreed to participate in the roundtable after receiving a letter and a delegation from Amanda Vance, executive director of the Cowichan Valley Intercultural and Immigration Aid Society (CIS).
Vance said that in recent years, the Intercultural Society, which has been serving immigrants and refugees to the Valley with a range of supports since 1981, has experienced high demand on services due to the arrival of 127 displaced Ukrainians and increased immigration target levels by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
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“While we ordinarily serve approximately 500 clients in a year, we have already exceeded that total in the last nine months,” she said.
“This increase in immigration follows a trend since 2001 when the numbers of immigrants started to increase annually. In the 2016-2021 Census, immigration increased 6.3 per cent regionally.”
Vance said that in recognition of the steady increase in immigration to the area, the Intercultural Society recently conducted a study on the feasibility of developing a Local Immigration Partnership to better deal with the related issues.
She said the study identified how immigration may benefit the local community in regards to filling labour-market gaps and other needs, and where immigration may add additional pressure on limited resources, like affordable housing.
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“The study concluded that a LIP would benefit the region by gathering stakeholders from the school district to the chamber of commerce, to non-profits and local representatives at a roundtable to discuss strategies to manage newcomer retention and relations,” Vance said.
“The overriding goal of a LIP is to ensure immigration benefits the region, and that the region is welcoming and strategic in its approach to immigration as well. Strategies developed at the table would be supported by data collection to ensure a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to service delivery.”
Vance said the Intercultural Society has recently submitted a five-year plan to Immigration Canada, its core funder, for a LIP in the Cowichan Valley.
“As part of this proposal, we suggested working with the CVRD and other relevant stakeholders to establish a LIP in April, 2025,” she said.
Duncan Coun. Tom Duncan said it’s great to see that there’s a local effort to try to get some more help from the federal government
“I’m currently going through the immigration jungle with my wife and it’s really hard to get things done, so anything that gets more access to IRCC and its processes would be great,” he said.