The union representing workers at the Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Case Processing Centre in Vegreville met with Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen on Monday. The centre is set to be moved from Vegreville to Edmonton, a change that would be economically devastating for the small Alberta town, a new study has found.
Closure of Alberta town’s immigration centre would be economic blow, study finds
If the federal centre moves from Vegreville to Edmonton as proposed, the town will lose its largest employer and may see a drop in population and home prices, the study says.
The union representing workers at the Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Case Processing Centre in Vegreville met with Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen on Monday. The centre is set to be moved from Vegreville to Edmonton, a change that would be economically devastating for the small Alberta town, a new study has found.
VEGREVILLE, ALTA.—A study commissioned by a town in eastern Alberta suggests the closure of a federal immigration processing centre would be economically devastating.
Vegreville would suffer a permanent drop in population, lower property values and higher unemployment if the Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Case Processing Centre moves to Edmonton, according to the report.
The federal government announced late last year it was relocating the centre, which employs 236 people, by the end of 2018 to improve service.
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The report suggests Vegreville could lose up to 420 people, or 7.3 per cent of the population, and the town believes about 130 students would be lost from local schools.
It could also lead to a 30 per cent decrease in home prices.
The centre opened in Vegreville in 1994 and has been one of the town’s largest employers for over 20 years.
“The government’s decision to close the CPC means Vegreville will be older, smaller and poorer. This is exactly the opposite of what the government promised to do for rural Canada in the last election,” Mayor Myron Hayduk said.
The union representing workers at the centre met with Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen on Monday.
“The bottom line is that the department doesn’t need to close the Case Processing Centre in Vegreville in order to expand operations in Edmonton,” said Marianne Hladun, executive vice president of the Prairies Regional branch of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
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