Urgent Action requested for a provincial government advocacy initiative: Remove Revelstoke from our current economic region classification for the
Foreign Workers Program
Good day Revelstoke Business Community,

The Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce and Revelstoke Accommodation Association are urgently requesting your time to help with a provincial advocacy effort around our ongoing labour shortage crisis. We have been lobbying the provincial government to pursue if, and how, Revelstoke can be exempt from our Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) classification for the Foreign Worker Program (FWP). The current classification is prohibiting our employers from applying for this option, even when no local, provincial, or national workers are available.

Your input, data, and stories are urgently requested to help the cause.

We have recently received support from Wayne Stetski’s office, that they have been successful in presenting our situation and connecting with the manager of the Foreign Worker Program at the Deputy Minister’s office. They are now requesting direct feedback, or a compilation of specific issues, that business owners are having when applying for the FWP.

“We would like to receive details as to what specifically is happening when an employer applies that is making their application unsuccessful”

Your response can be in point form:
-Give specifics. Is it is due to categories of employment or location of work?
-Do you feel solely it is due to the economic region you are applying from?
-Is it due to disparity of wages between regions?

Note that to date, no community has requested to be removed from their regional classification. We would be the first community to apply and spearhead this initiative.

Please send your feedback to arm the Chamber with real stories from our business community leaders. We are aware that should this initiative be successful, in no way will it end the labour shortage crisis our employers are facing in our community. However, this would certainly be one step towards what will be a multi-faceted approach.

If you have direct questions about this initiative, please give me a call at my office: 250 837 5345 x3105 or email me: executive@revelstokechamber.com.

Please share with widely with your business community peers or fellow business owners who may benefit from this initiative, or have feedback to provide. Word of mouth is often the best way to spread the news and we are aware that many owners are working overtime to fill positions themselves and often do not have the time to catch up on their emails.

Kind Regards,

Jana Thompson

Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce | Executive Director

250-837-5345 | 1-800-487-1493

Thank you from your Revelstoke Board of Directors