As a result of Morden Mayor Brandon Burley's time on the Federal Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Board of Directors, the city has been selected as one of three Canadian cities to take part in a unique opportunity.
Burley explained.
"The City of Morden was introduced into a new federal study that is going to establish and create a framework for the next generation of immigration in Canada. Canada's natural birth rate replacement is not high enough to maintain our population, and so immigration is going to become increasingly important to municipalities across Canada as they seek to grow and thrive."
He noted this opportunity fell into the city's lap, because of his involvement with FCM.
"In partnership with the FCM and IIRC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada), the City of Morden was introduced as a partner in this committee, along with membership from the City of London ON and Moncton, NB. Those both being larger municipalities, the City of Morden is the token small municipality in Canada. So, our input is going to reflect the interests of small municipal partners across Canada, as they seek to grow and expand their labor forces and grow their economies."
Burley has some clear objectives.
"Our hope is as we go through these steps, we're able to contribute positively to the discussion as we talk about full system support for immigration in Canada. Including infrastructure, active transportation and financial needs relative to immigration and to municipalities, but also in system support through the IRCC. Some of the small gaps really hamper our ability to deliver effectively."
He noted Morden was mainly used as the foundation for the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Project in Canada. He said, being able to be a part of driving the bus forward and to be a leading partner in municipal immigration, it's an honour the city intends to take positively as it looks to grow its reputation in this area.
"Our hope is that as this study comes to a conclusion and as this work is being done, that it leads to the positive investment by the federal government and a build out of this model in our community and others across Canada. So, Morden is proud to, once again, be a leader in this space and very excited for what the future of immigration brings to our city, and to our region, but also to communities across Canada."
Morden Immigration Coordinator Shelly Voth will represent Morden on this new committee.
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