Mr. Speaker, the riding of Great Slave has a large population of newcomers, immigrants, refugees, temporary foreign workers, and permanent residents. These folks can't vote, but I still proudly represent them. I want to be clear. I know immigration is a federal issue, but decisions made in Ottawa affect our neighbours. Some are highly skilled individuals, including health professionals, but they're often only able to secure unskilled positions. There's a stark reality for many newcomers who feel tied to jobs that don't pay well, feeling compelled to stay in a job because their employer tells them they will put in an application for the nominee program.
The program requires applicants to be working with an employer for six months before sponsorship. Some workers are waiting much longer because their employer delays their application. Having your residency tied to your loyalty of your employer is a vulnerable and precarious place to be for any worker. The pause put on the nominee program this past July, after the territory reached its cap of 300, was a shock to the newcomer community. This program is a preferred gateway for newcomers wishing to establish themselves permanently in our territory.
The NWT is a place of promise for many folks trying to build a new life with their families, but this pause has broken their hope and eroded their trust in this program. Moving the goal posts for newcomers to start their path to citizenship is painful to witness, Mr. Speaker, especially when they and their families are in a vulnerable position to begin with.
Many newcomers chose to establish themselves in the North rather than down south because we were a rare Canadian jurisdiction that had never reached its annual nominee cap. But this has changed. Yes, the perception of immigration across Canada is changing. There are populists in this country who are equating newcomers with housing crises and a cutthroat job market. And it is true that in some southern jurisdictions, unchecked population growth is straining our safety nets, but unlike these jurisdictions, Mr. Speaker, the NWT has essentially been in a population standstill for a decade. There might be a day when our welcoming capacity will become compromised and we will have to limit the number of newcomers who we welcome each year, but we are far from that point today. We need to welcome immigrants to grow our population. We need immigrants to fill the vacant positions in health care. We need more workers. We need more entrepreneurs. We need more taxpayers. And we need increased federal transfers. We can't afford not to be welcoming. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. That means we need a nominee program that works for our employers as well as for the newcomers hoping for a better future in this territory. This means we need more spots in the NWT nominee program, and the GNWT must ask the federal government for an increase to the quota. I will have questions for the Minister of ECE at the appropriate time. Thank you.
