More than 100 attend NWT nominee program town hall

Well over 100 people packed Yellowknife’s Northern United Place this week as two MLAs called a meeting to discuss changes to the territory’s nominee program.

People in Tuesday’s audience included business owners, foreign workers and applicants who had applications for the program recently rejected.

The Northwest Territories Nominee Program – which helps foreign workers who already reside here gain a better shot at attaining Canadian permanent residency – was put on pause last year after the territory hit its 300-applicant limit.

Although the program was set to reopen in January, that was postponed following the federal government’s decision to cut intake by half across all provinces and territories.

Forced to cap this year’s intake at 150 slots, the GNWT said it needed time to reevaluate the program. Newer, stricter guidelines were issued a month later that reduced the pool of applicants eligible to qualify.

At the time, the territory said 60 applications submitted shortly after the program’s 2024 pause would be considered in this year’s intake. This meant skilled workers, semi-skilled workers and francophone applicants were all competing for just 90 remaining 2025 slots.

The territory got rid of its old first-come, first-served approach and instead allowed employers a week-long period to submit an application on behalf of their workers. Selection was based on a random draw.

The NWT eventually received 131 applications from those who met the fresh intake criteria. Forty-one people rejected were told their applications would remain in the system until December 12. If more slots became available or someone withdraws their application, a redraw will select candidates from that pool.

Earlier this month, Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins and Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart said the territory was being offered an extra 150 slots by Ottawa in exchange for accepting 50 refugees.

The two – who were the hosts of Tuesday’s meeting – say they want the NWT’s minister responsible for immigration, Caitlin Cleveland, to take the offer.

“I think immigrants and temporary workers and foreign workers who are in this country contributing to the economy have been painted with a very negative brush in recent years,” Testart told attendees on Tuesday.

“When it comes to the Northwest Territories, we’re talking about 300 people. We’re not talking about 3,000 people. We’re not talking about 30,000 people, like you see in Ontario or in the larger provinces. We are fighting for 150 spots.”

Abhinav Mendhe, who works at Yellowknife’s downtown liquor store, could not meet the updated eligibility criteria for the nominee program. With his work permit due to expire in the next few months, he said he plans to leave the territory.

“There’s no point staying, because I can’t wait six months and burn up whatever I have saved just to see whether they’re going to open [the program] in my favour or not,” he said.

“I don’t mind if their message is: ‘We can’t help you.’ There just needs to be more clarity and finality so that people on the other end don’t keep hope … We’re burning a lot of time, and I came here with a dream, and that doesn’t seem to be working well for me.”

Shivam Maggo said his application was ready to be uploaded onto the portal hours before the intake closed last year. Despite being the only applicant who met the eligibility for NTNP at his place of work, Maggo said his application was not picked in the draw.

Maggo said he has lived in Yellowknife for a year and half and wishes to grow his family here.

“That was little shocking,” he said.

“It was very disheartening being a key business in town that not only supports the tourism in the territory, the housing crisis in the territory, supports medical travels in the territory, and not getting support for even one applicant.”

Maggo’s coworker, Prashant Chhabra, said he finds it “completely unfair” that no-one got selected from their workplace. He said he knows of at least five people that relocated out of the NWT either after getting rejected or when the updated guidelines were announced.

“The lottery system was not quite fair, too, because it was not open to the public. This is like saying if you’re lucky enough, then you will get it, otherwise your experience, your qualification, the amount of time you spend here, the amount of experience you have overall in Canada, doesn’t matter,” he said.

Hawkins calls Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s decision to cut slots “bitterly unfair.” Despite that, he believes the territory can “easily manage” to accept 50 asylum seekers.

According to him, Cleveland is hesitant to consider that offer without learning of the financial implications for the territory if it accepts.

“Fifty percent of the Northwest Territories is going to collapse. I saw some big businesses here tonight,” said Hawkins.

“They’re upset, they’re frustrated, and they don’t know what they’re going to do.”