Businesses describe labour shortages in Town of Blackfalds; lack of rentable housing a challenge

The program is administered by both the provincial and federal governments.

If an individual is nominated, they can apply for permanent residence status with their spouse or common-law partner and dependent children. They must meet medical, criminal and security federal checks with the final decision left to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

The Town will then work with employers to attract, recruit, and retain newcomers by sharing information on settlement support.

There are currently over 60 communities in Alberta who have received the designation, including the towns of Sylvan Lake, Innisfail, Olds and Bowden in central Alberta.

Sadick says the owners of Pizza 73, who have locations in Innisfail and Olds, have already seen success with the program in those markets.

He says the program can help bring workers and families from places like India and Ukraine.

Councillor Edna Coulter questioned if the Town has enough housing to support an influx of workers.

Sadik admitted, this is an aspect harming their application as there is not enough rentable housing units.

“As far as housing goes, there’s no question; that’s the one thing we don’t have right now,” said Sadik, using his own experience as an example.

“When I moved here seven weeks ago, I looked for a place to live. I didn’t want to buy right away so I was trying to find something for rent and I couldn’t find anything; there’s nothing to rent. High income, low income, it just doesn’t matter.”

The Town’s Planning and Development Department confirmed there is only one apartment complex in the municipality at 4801 Parkwood Road.

Sadik claims he was told during his search that the apartment was booked solid, with a three-year waitlist consisting of over 40 names. As a result, he now lives in Red Deer.

However, he says the town has lots of public transportation coming from the cities of Red Deer and Lacombe, where workers can live and travel from.

Administration confirmed there are currently no applications by developers to construct apartment buildings in the town. Mayor Jamie Hoover described the housing issue as a “chicken and the egg” situation with developers wanting to ensure units will be rented, while newcomers want to ensure there are available units to rent.

Councillor Rebecca Stendie, while in support of the application, vocalized concern for the town’s youth that are also looking for work.

“I would strongly encourage or recommend our local business owners to consider the youth that are already here. I know quite a few who have taken resumes around town and not gotten a single phone call, which is devastating to me considering we have all these amazing businesses that have come in and parents were excited their children would have somewhere close to home to work,” she said.

“If we could just encourage, while we’re waiting for all this paperwork to go through, that some of our local organizations look at the youth in our community because I think they have a lot of potential.”

While there is no financial impact of the program to the Town, Sadick said Blackfalds Family & Community Support Services would be involved in helping newcomers climatize to the area, connecting them to churches and schools, and helping children enroll in programs like scouts and other activities.

by Alessia Proietti

Businesses describe labour shortages in Town of Blackfalds; lack of rentable housing a challenge

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