[BRIEF NOTE] Go west

[rfmcdonald]

The Globe and Mail's Maria Jimenez reported recently on how Saskatchewan, until recently a have-not province but currently enjoyiung an economic boom, is trying to recruit immigrants.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall hosted a barbecue of lamb curry and halal chicken biryani in one of Toronto's most multicultural neighbourhoods yesterday, hoping to lure immigrants fed up with menial jobs, smog and ill-mannered drivers to fill a growing labour shortage in his booming province.

Mr. Wall admitted with a chuckle that it's the first time a provincial premier has set out to recruit newcomers from Thorncliffe Park, a low-income northeast Toronto neighbourhood where three-quarters of the 17,000 residents are visible minorities.

"We have a great story to tell," he said, of Saskatchewan's unprecedented economic success, led in part by surging commodity prices.

"Last time [in 2007], we came back with the Grey Cup. This time we hope to come back with a whole lot of newcomers."

Immigrants have for years settled mainly in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, bypassing smaller urban centres such as Saskatoon and Regina. There are, for example, twice as many South Asians in Thorncliffe Park, than there are in all of Saskatchewan: 8,665 versus 3,990.

However, even though these recent newcomers are better educated than their Canadian-born counterparts, they are often unable to get jobs in their field, due to reluctance among some employers to recognize foreign credentials.

Mr. Wall hopes to persuade the disgruntled to give up on the Toronto dream - and the shops selling curry takeout and pashminas - and try their luck in Saskatchewan.

"There are a number of immigrants who are underemployed compared to their skill level," he said. "We have everything they would want."

[. . .]

"Saskatchewan is a big name in the market now," said Rafiq Muhammed, 35, who sat at a table decorated with a Saskatchewan flag and yellow balloons. Mr. Muhammed is an electrical engineer from Lahore, Pakistan, forced to take work as a bookkeeper. Frustrated and disappointed, he will consider moving to Saskatchewan with his wife, Samina Ghafoor, and their two children, hopeful that with 10,000 jobs, there will be one in his field.

Fellow Pakistani Ambreen Rind, a 32-year-old physician in internal medicine, is also considering relocating with her husband and young daughter. She chose Toronto initially because of the large Pakistani community and the weather. But "it's the job that matters," she said. And even though she has passed all of her qualifying exams, she cannot get a placement to repeat her residency in Ontario.

It's not only immigrants to Canada Wall's trying to recruit, mind, but migrants from across Canada, like, say, Ontarians.

Wall's government is hoping to woo laid-off workers from Ontario's battered manufacturing sector. Saskatchewan politicians brought 50 companies from the Prairie province to Toronto for the country's largest job fair, which starts Tuesday.

There are an estimated 10,000 unfilled jobs in Saskatchewan.

Michael Fougere, president of the Saskatchewan Construction Association, said his 1,200-member group of firms is desperate for skilled workers.

"They're dying for people," Fougere said of the members in his association, which represents all non-residential construction in the province.

Fougere planned to visit the Toronto job show in hopes of bringing back piles of resumes for 70 construction companies that are looking for electricians, carpenters, cabinet makers, roofers and sheet-metal workers.

"I have 624 actual jobs that are available today," he said. "These are not sort of wish lists - these are actual positions that these companies would take today.

Although Wall avoided using the term "poaching" to describe his plan to attract Ontario workers, he was unapologetic about his tactics.

"Saskatchewan has generously lent its people to the country and to the world," Wall said. "Now we're in a position because of our economy, because of our labour shortage, to say there's opportunities at home."

Saskatchewan is also trying to lure new immigrants who might not have considered living in the province.