Welcoming Week events start in Red Deer as Premier Smith says no to more asylum seekers

Also Sept. 17, a free family movie night featuring the film ‘Migration’ is happening, and then a final lunch and learn on Sept. 18 will focus on the vulnerability of 2SLGBTQI+ newcomers.

More details on the week’s events are here.

Jill Bried, program manager at Care for Newcomers, attended the panel talk on Friday.

“People from all over the world and from all backgrounds know they are welcome, accepted and belong in central Alberta,” Bried said. “They can participate in activities, and it’s a safe place for their families.”

Bried also agreed with Care’s executive director, Frank Bauer, who sat on the panel, and had said that newcomers can’t be blamed for systemic issues Canada has before they arrive.

Timing-wise, it was interesting and created conversation Thursday evening when Alberta Premier Danielle Smith issued a statement stating the province is not open to additional asylum seekers.

“Excessive levels of immigration to this province are increasing the cost of living and strains public services for everyone,” the premier stated, criticizing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s, “unrestrained open border policies.”

“We are informing the Government of Canada that until further notice, Alberta is not open to having these additional asylum seekers settled in our province. We simply cannot afford it.”

Smith noted that Alberta represents only 11.8 per cent of the Canadian population, but is currently supporting approximately 22 per cent (over 70,000) of Ukrainian evacuees who’ve arrived in Canada.

To some, including Jamil Mohamad, this message comes off as starkly unwelcoming.

Mohamad arrived in Canada from Ethiopia in 2017, and has worked hard here in Red Deer — at times four jobs — to make a good life for his family.

He says when a community is welcoming to newcomers, such as Red Deer was to him, it makes a big difference. But learning of Premier Smith’s comments stirred up mixed feelings.

“That is very sad news,” he said. “People who’ve come here have no plan to go back. Nobody loves leaving their country; they’re running from something and they’re here for help.”

Mohamad also noted the government recently talking about a surplus, and wonders why that can’t be part of the solution.

Red Deer Mayor Ken Johnston, who says Welcoming Week is about walking the walk, is proud that the community has welcomed so many. He added that it’s positive to see people forming associations, hosting festivals, and observances around holy days.

“It’s very gratifying to have a week like this,” he says.

But Johnston doesn’t believe the premier’s comments were intended to mean that newcomers are unwelcome.

“There’s very much two sides to this coin. There’s no doubt Alberta has presented itself as a place of opportunity and to begin a new life. But in the context of what our premier is concerned about, it’s the resources required anytime you bring in newcomers or open up the province to interprovincial migration,” he said.

“This is not just an Alberta challenge. The provinces are feeling under-resourced. So it’s not a people problem, and not an immigration problem, it’s a resources problem. I think Ottawa is aware of it.”

Johnston, who also spoke to rdnewsNOW this week about affordable housing in the context of increasing homelessness, called what the premier is getting at a, “common-sense equation.”

“If you’re going to bring in folks who are seeking protection and asylum, let’s be equipped. That prevents it from becoming an issue of them versus us.”

Marc Miller, federal Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, clapped back at Premier Smith’s comments Thursday night on social media site X.

Said Miller: “This statement by Premier Smith is incoherent. In March, she was complaining that « federal immigration limits » were undercutting growth in the Alberta economy and, in particular, came to Ottawa for 10,000 permanent residency spaces for Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression.”

This statement by Premier Smith is incoherent. In March, she was complaining that « federal immigration limits » were undercutting growth in the Alberta economy and, in particular, came to Ottawa for 10,000 permanent residency spaces for Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression. https://t.co/BIxUgnXti5

— Marc Miller ᐅᑭᒫᐃᐧᐅᓃᐸᐄᐧᐤᐃᔨᐣ (@MarcMillerVM) September 12, 2024

Miller added two more posts, saying:

(2/3) “Alberta has refused to be part of the provincial/federal working group we struck this year to deal with the fair distribution of asylum seekers in the federation so they would be unaware of what is actually on the table, including financial compensation.”

(3/3) “So they should stop making things up and participate in solving a challenge that is unduly affecting the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, consistent with their commitments at the most recent meeting of the Council of the Federation.”

On Friday, rdnewsNOW reached out to Minister Miller’s office for additional comment on what it intends to provide Alberta if more refugees were to come to the province. We will add the ministry’s comments here if provided.

In a separate statement on national Welcoming Week, Miller noted that as of 2021, immigrants aged 25 to 54 made up one in five workers in construction; one in three workers in professional, scientific and technical services; and more than one in three workers in the transportation, warehousing, accommodation and food services sectors.

He said these numbers highlight the importance of newcomers to the Canadian labour market, particularly in occupations for which workers are in shortage.

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by Josh Hall | @Vancan19

Welcoming Week events start in Red Deer as Premier Smith says no to more asylum seekers

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