The mayor of Timmins wants a pilot project to bring skilled tradespeople to Northern Ontario from other countries to be made permanent with money to go along with it.
As he looks at his list of priorities for the next Timmins-James Bay MP, George Pirie says the cost shouldn’t be on the shoulders of municipalities.
(City of Timmins)
“This can’t be a disguised download of a federal responsibility,” he comments. “We need it. It’s their responsibility. Certainly trade and immigration has always been a federal responsibility and if you want to download the cost to us, then let us make us totally responsible for the application of the program.”
“These things are fair when we talk about a municipality who are the receiver of the downloads,” Pirie adds, “but our hands are tied when it comes to actually effecting the solutions.”
The federal election is this coming Monday.