SUDBURY, Ont. (CP) -- Take a stroll on the Jim Gordon Boardwalk around Ramsay Lake and you'll see what the census data is telling us - there are an increasing number of immigrants in Greater Sudbury.
And judging by the many visible minorities evident on the promenade, they are becoming an important part of what Sudbury will grow to be in the next few years - a more cosmopolitan city, with more ethnic and cultural diversity.
Xstrata vice-president Mike Romaniuk said recently his company is looking to hire more than 400 people this year, and the company is travelling the world looking for skilled help - including, most recently, in Africa. Vale Inco is also on a hiring drive for skilled workers that is said to be its most ambitious in three decades.
According to Statistics Canada's 2006 census, the city's visible minority population increased by six per cent from 2001, totalling 3,275 people in Greater Sudbury. The city's population grew 1.6% between 2001 and 2006, and visible minorities make up about 6% of new residents. With aggressive recruitment of skilled miners, including well-paid mine engineers from the far-flung reaches of the world, The city is going to see a richer ethnic mix in the city over the next decade or so. (The Chinese population in the city grew by almost 50% to 620 people, and the south Asian and southeast Asian population also grew markedly, though their numbers are still relatively small.)
It is a splendid opportunity for Sudbury to expand beyond its largely European-based demographics and develop into a more worldly city.
Such immigration is part of the city's "maturing" process that some refer to when they argue for the need for big-ticket items such as the proposed sports complex and a performing arts centre.
Immigrants help us to look more outward, rather than inward. They bring new experiences, culture, food, interests and perspectives that make the city a more interesting place to live.
So a story by Andrew Low published last week in the Sudbury Star should make the city take notice of the challenges these new immigrants face - especially visible minorities. Statistics Canada reports that nationwide, immigrants between 25 and 54 years old have a harder time getting jobs than people born in Canada. That difficulty in employment carried over into those who earned their education in Canada and the U.S., so misgivings over foreign credentials cannot be blamed entirely for the issue, though it certainly is part of the equation. (The StatsCan study showed that 90 per cent of Canadian-born university graduates were employed in 2007, compared to 75% of immigrants who were educated in Canada.)
Niranjan Mishra, an engineer and social worker who volunteers in Sudbury and southern Ontario to help immigrants adapt, says these employment trends apply in Sudbury. In fact, he says immigrants are likely to face more discrimination in the North by employers. He says the North must work to help immigrants adjust. He recommends free equivalency programs be set up to help immigrants gain work experience in their chosen field, and easier access to job fairs.
Foreign accents also tend to be a barrier to employment, Mishra says.
If the city is to fully embrace the opportunities that come with well-educated, skilled workers moving here from all over the world, it should, along with the province, ensure that sufficient resources are devoted to making their transition more promising.
(c) The Canadian Press 2008
