REGINA – Salons are among those concerned over recent changes to the Saskatchewan Immigration Nominee Program that they say are costing them workers.
A delegation from Passion Salon in Regina was on hand Tuesday at the Legislature to voice their concerns about the situation. According to NDP Immigration critic Noor Burki, they are facing issues keeping their two locations open due to worker shortages.
The issue involved a change in policy by SINP, which impacted those seeking their journeyperson license in the hairstyling profession and aesthetic field and who hoped to work in the trades. The salon has had a number of staff who were apprenticing who were directly impacted by the changes.
TJ Veghal, a business owner at Passion Salon, said that as of last March, the hairstyling and aesthetics sector has been excluded as one of the approved categories.
“So we are thinking it should be included into the SINP because this is a Red Seal license profession,” Veghal said.
He said Red Seal employees are not easy to find, and added he is losing workers fast due to the situation.
“So we are requesting government to include hairstyling profession and aesthetic profession … Red Seal professions, and we are requesting them to include us into that so we can stop losing employees."
He noted these employees are already part of the Saskatchewan economy, and they're paying taxes.
"I don't want to close my locations. I have two locations. So I'm not looking forward to do that if we can save them.”
In Question Period in the Legislature, Burki raised the issue with Minister of Government Relations Eric Schmalz. According to his remarks as recorded in Hansard, Schmalz confirmed that part of the issue was a cut in the number of nominees available to Saskatchewan as a result of decisions from the federal government.
“As everyone in this building should know, the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training has an engagement with the federal government to ensure that we are meeting our SINP quotas, Mr. Speaker. We have had those quotas cut this year, Mr. Speaker, in half. Literally 40 per cent of those SINP nominees are no longer available to the province of Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker.”
Schmalz confirmed they have been lobbying the federal government, as “we are in favour of an orderly and responsible immigration to our province, Mr. Speaker, that helps grow our economy and ensure that the people of Saskatchewan are being served.”
Schmalz also said that the government has had to prioritize immigration into key areas of the economy, including energy and resources, health care, and education.
"We have had to make those hard decisions.”
In speaking to reporters, Burki pointed to other provinces such as Manitoba, where extensions were offered.
“We should do it. We have to be flexible,” said Burki.
