By Radha Agarwal,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

"In our town, foreign workers are not a convenience, they are a necessity," John Farrell told city council.

Farrell, head of Community Futures—an organization helping entrepreneurs in the North Coast and Haida Gwaii—is also a business owner. On March 24, he joined other prominent local business representatives from the Crest Hotel, Highliner Hotel, and Opa Sushi at a council meeting to raise alarm over tightening immigration rules.

The room included members of the Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Prince Rupert, all united in concern over the impact recent federal immigration changes are having on their ability to maintain a workforce.

Many Prince Rupert businesses have long struggled to recruit locals or Canadians from other regions to move north, resulting in a dependence on temporary foreign workers (TFWs) and international students. The data illustrates the depth of this reliance: Skeena Taxi employs 60% of its drivers under temporary permits; Safeway, 50% of its 78 staff; Save On Foods, 35%; Tim Hortons, 30%; Chances Casino, 55%; and three local restaurants operate entirely with TFWs. The Crest Hotel employs 35% foreign workers; McDonald's has 50 of 80 workers on temporary permits.

“We had an employee who was renewing his LMIA, totally legal to work here. It came across a desk at IRCC, and a decision was made to pull their work visa on the spot,” said Christopher Colussi, general manager of the Crest Hotel. “So, on the day of, they lost all their Canadian rights. Some even had their kids kicked out of school and lost health care.”

“This is not a minor concern; this is a crisis,” said Farrell. “We’re asking the federal government to do one simple thing: treat rural, northern B.C. differently.”

Similar stories are unfolding across other towns such as Terrace, Kitimat, Smithers and Houston.

Corrine Warburton, co-owner of the Highliner Hotel, said their restaurant, The Ridge, had to “suddenly and literally shut down” after their head chef, a foreign worker, was denied an extension. They’ve been unable to fill key roles in housekeeping, the front desk, and restaurant operations, leading to significant financial losses.

“This is a very local result of the federal policy,” she said.

Kristi Farrell, co-owner of Opa Sushi, has run the business for 25 years, employing over 110 foreign workers and their families, 90% of whom later obtained Permanent Residency. Some have even launched their own businesses.

But now, some of her staff have been ordered to stop working and are in a 90-day grace period without income or certainty.

“We are a viable, very good, long-term business; probably we could go on for another 30 years... [the immigration caps] are doing a complete disservice to our community and disruption to the business,” she said. “I’m very confident that our business will be closing due to this if we don’t have some ability to change the structure of it.”

Business owners repeated a common refrain: they offer jobs, but no locals are applying. Urban-style immigration policy doesn’t reflect the economic reality of small-town businesses reliant on minimum or slightly above minimum-wage jobs.

Since Fall 2024, the federal government has tightened the Temporary Foreign Worker Program by increasing Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) requirements, lowering caps on foreign hires, refusing applications in certain job categories, and cutting low-wage employment durations from two years to one.

Compounding the problem is bureaucratic inefficiency. LMIAs are handled by Service Canada, while work permits are processed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Delays and poor coordination between the two agencies have created massive backlogs, leaving both employers and workers stranded.

In many cases, visa expirations are occurring while workers wait for LMIA approval. Some foreign workers who’ve held the same jobs for years and successfully renewed their permits in the past are now being rejected outright.

Skeena–Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach weighed in: “The immigration issue has become deeply politicized, mostly at the hands of the Conservatives. And the Liberals, in turn, made some rash decisions that are now having a really difficult impact on our economy.”

The federal government says its 2025–2027 immigration Levels Plan aims to slow immigration to relieve pressure on housing and services, while focusing on long-term economic goals.

Lalit Bhatia, an immigrant from India and head chef at Opa Sushi, is one of those impacted. Since joining the restaurant in 2021 during the pandemic, he had hoped to buy a home in Prince Rupert. Now, he faces deportation.

“It’s a very solid possibility at this point that I will leave on 15th [April]. It’s a heavy-hearted situation,” said Bhatia. “Spending four years in one kitchen, in one restaurant, and everything is good… Leaving at this point, only because they are not issuing LMIA and permit, is a hard situation. We have to leave, that’s the rule.”

Despite being a Red Seal certified worker and paying taxes like any Canadian, his future is in limbo. He applied for an LMIA on November 6, 2024, and hasn’t heard back. Meanwhile, his work permit has expired.

“Even if I magically receive my LMIA tomorrow, renewing the work visa could take another three to four months,” he said. “At this point, our mental state is f****d up completely. Every morning, when we wake up, the first thing I do is check my email, whether I receive some LMIA or some permit or not.”

He’s preparing to return to Delhi, bracing for the challenges of adjusting to lower wages and a different work culture.

“One of my friends from Highliner, his grace period got over. And that guy was literally crying when I went to drop him at the Prince Rupert airport,” Bhatia said. “He already flew back to India, and now again, he’s waiting for LMIA, but still no response. Not just me, my other friends, we are all suffering.”

With a federal election campaign underway, Farrell hopes to build momentum for policy change, so action can be taken swiftly once Parliament reconvenes.

“It’s unlikely that much is going to happen over the next month because of the election… But this region deserves better policy, and we’re going to keep pushing for that,” said Bachrach, who submitted a formal letter about the issue to then-Immigration Minister Marc Miller in December.

Presenters urged Prince Rupert's city council to sign a formal declaration addressing the staff shortages. The document will be circulated among other local governments along Highway 16, business leaders, and key advocacy groups.

They are calling for:

1. Grandfathering existing LMIA assessments.

2. Reversing hiring caps.

3. Immediate work permit renewals for northern and rural B.C.

4. Faster permit processing timelines.

“Fourth, and most importantly, support rural Canada with immigration policies that reflect our needs and protect the dignity of the people who come here to work,” Farrell said.

“Workers are being told to stop working immediately… their families are in limbo and businesses are scrambling. This isn’t just inefficient and unreasonable, it is unsustainable.”