Originally posted and published by The Port Hawkesbury Reporter.

Efforts to attract and retain more immigrants deserve the support of the community and all levels of government.

At Port Hawkesbury’s November town council meeting, vice president of development for New Dawn, Erika Shea, said bringing in more immigrants facilitates economic development, provides more economic opportunities, creates more jobs, and injects more wealth into communities.

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During the monthly meeting of Richmond Municipal Council on November 27, the Cape Breton Partnership’s Omar Tag El Din, program lead for the Atlantic Immigration Pilot, told council that Cape Breton loses 800 people between the ages of 15 and 54 from its labour force every year.

Immigrants are more likely to start a business, export to countries other than the U.S. and are commonly healthy professionals who contribute to the local tax base, Tag El Din said, noting that Cape Breton’s Local Immigration Partnership wants to improve the integration of newcomers, help communities to be more welcoming and facilitate planning for newcomers.

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