The territorial Department of Economic Development has announced a new pilot program to help bring more workers to communities. Minister Ranj Pillai and others announced The Yukon Community Pilot on Thursday afternoon at the Burnt Toast Café .

Pillai said the announcement was made at the café because it’s “ground zero” for the labour challenges businesses face in the territory. He said the immigration unit and the department put a lot of work into the pilot project.

“These individuals have worked extremely hard,” Pillai said.

He pointed out the Yukon has had the lowest unemployment rate in the country for the past three years. While this indicates a strong and growing economy, he said, it can be a challenge for business owners to find employees.

Pillai explained that employers have indicated struggles with the Yukon Nominee Program to meet labour needs.

“We have listened,” Pillai said.

The pilot program is being launched to help meet the need for part-time or seasonal employment in communities.

This is a new feature in the nominee program. It allows nominees to work for up to three employers in the participating communities all year, without being tied to a sole employer.

“This will open up new job opportunities and help address the labour needs of businesses in Yukon communities,” Pillai said.

He added this is a “made in Yukon” solution.

The program is set to launch in Whitehorse, Watson Lake, Dawson City, Haines Junction, Carmacks and Carcross next January.

Pillai explained the announcement comes four months in advance to allow community businesses time to plan for the 2020 season. If successful, the department hopes to expand the project to the rest of the territory.

Pillai explained that the department worked with the Yukon Chamber of Commerce to choose the six communities. They were selected due to the activity in those communities.

He said Dawson City is growing, and this creates pressure to find workers. He said Carmacks is the hub of the Yukon, and there is a lot going through there.

He added that there was always the desire to have this be community rather than regionally focused.

The government will be working with communities to help integrate newcomers into the community and workplaces.

The project will last three years. He said there will be 50 new nominees per year. There is no cost to the project.

Peter Turner, the chamber’s president, said the project should go a long way to remedy employment issues. He said finding employees is a common issue he hears from Yukon businesses.

Turner noted the pilot project focusing outside of Whitehorse will be positive. He explained that the city does have its challenges, but businesses in the small communities have trouble recruiting.

“It’s a great approach,” Turner said.

Kendell Tricker, the owner and operator of the Carmacks Hotel, spoke next. She said she has conversed with the government on several occasions to explain the challenges her business is facing.

“I’ve used the nominee program fairly extensively to keep my doors open,” Tricker said. “It’s worked very successfully for me.”

She has been able to keep nominees employed, sometimes for years after the individual gets permanent residency.

That said, there are still gaps in her work schedule. This can cause the business to struggle, since there is not a line-up of workers seeking employment in her community.

She explained that nominees can be limited to certain roles. Someone who is nominated to work in food and beverage can’t work in other areas of the business.

She said other programs have flaws, like the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. It is expensive for a small business. It has steep fees for only temporary workers.

“It’s not very helpful,” Tricker said.

She feels this pilot program will help her business and those like it.

She added it’s an exciting opportunity. It can address labour shortages with speed and flexibility. She also believes it will help communities retain workers.

“I’m confident that it will help me sleep better at night,” Tricker said.

Pillai said anyone who is interested in applying can contact the department’s immigration unit.

Staff can walk business owners through the process and answer questions.

From April 1, 2018 to Aug. 15, 2019, the Yukon Nominee Program approved nominations for 241 nominees.