As Yorkton becomes increasingly a destination for international immigrants, questions of how to make the city more accommodating to the influx of newcomers grow more important.
Alongside the economic growth of recent years, Yorkton has seen a clear rising trend in the number of new arrivals from outside of Canada. According to Saskatchewan's Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration, in 2005 the Yorkton area saw 58 immigrant landings; this rose to 103 in 2006, 169 in 2008, and 247 in 2010.
A snowball effect exists among those making Canada their new home, says Edith Montesclaros, settlement senior supervisor with Yorkton's Partners in Settlement and Integration.
"Those people who came here first as temporary workers with work permits, now they are permanent residents. So they're bringing in their families now, and they've been inviting even friends who were planning to migrate to Canada to come to this area."
Yorkton is "highly recommended" among settled immigrants in part because of Partners in Settlement and Integration's Newcomer Welcome Centre: a Yorkton-based office that provides free settlement services to new arrivals across the region such as language translation, paperwork assistance, and help with finding services and community groups.
But the task of making newcomers feel welcome ultimately falls on all the people of the city, says Yorkton's Mayor James Wilson.
"The most important part we can play, whether it be city hall, whether it be businesses, or people in general, is to be accepting and welcoming of people coming from abroad."
The city is "progressing towards" that goal, says Wilson, but always has room for improvement.
"It's just human nature that we're all so busy we sometimes just don't pay attention to a new neighbor, simply by knocking on the door and saying, 'Welcome, come on over.'"
Cristina Lombos came to the city two years ago from the Philippines-now the number one source of immigrants to the area. She says that transitioning to life here was not difficult.
"It's mostly friendly people, a very quiet area. Everything is good. Everything is accessible."
But the pace of the immigration system is a source of frustration for nearly all newcomers to Canada. Lombos is currently here on a work permit, but hopes to obtain her permanent residence in the next few months. Only then can she begin looking at bringing over other members of her family or enrolling in vocational courses to pursue another career.
Yorkton's labor pool has not kept up with its economic growth, which is why Mayor Wilson hopes to see improvements in the processing speed of the provincial and federal immigration programs. But "ensuring diligence" in who is allowed into the country is still important, acknowledges the mayor.
"We know that everyone we've seen so far into our community have been wonderful people."
Yorkton residents will have noticed a swell in the number of immigrant workers taking on service and hospitality jobs around the city, but Edith Montesclaros notes that many of those who come are actually highly trained professionals. Not all of them can find work in their chosen fields.
"I thought a person with a doctorate in agriculture, it would be very easy for them to find a job in this area. But they can't find anything, and then they get frustrated. We don't have those opportunities for highly educated people. Often they have to move on to bigger cities. And so we lose them."
A change in Yorkton's employment landscape is unlikely to happen overnight. But some other barriers to effective settlement may be more manageable.
For instance, while limited public transportation may not seem like a serious issue in a city the size of Yorkton, Montesclaros says that it can be a major obstacle for immigrants who have not yet acquired a driver's license or saved enough money to buy a vehicle. Yorkton operates only a single public bus between the hours of 8 am and 7 pm, which restricts those who depend on it from taking jobs with changing shifts or unusual hours. "For example, in the Philippines, our public transportation is 24/7, and we have different modes of transportation. But here, it's kind of difficult even to attend social gatherings like a party that's at the other end of town."
The city recently amalgamated its public transit system with transit programs operated by the Saskatchewan Abilities Council and SIGN. The merger is in its early stages, but Mayor Wilson says that the bolstered efficiency of the new system might eventually lead to service improvements.
"What we're trying to do is create more of an effective yet efficient public transportation system in the city. When you have a number of different agencies trying to perform the same function, sooner or later we're probably doubling up on some efforts."
Montesclaros also hopes to see more advanced English as an Additional Language classes made available in the region; Parkland College currently offers only beginner and mixed intermediate/beginner courses. College representatives say that they can make no comment to media during an election season.
But perhaps the top issue facing newcomers to Yorkton is the same one facing many of its settled residents: housing. High rental costs and a lack of available units bar some immigrants from staying in the city and force others to share accommodations.
"I've heard stories of six people living in a two bedroom house," says Montesclaros.Housing remains a priority of City Council, says Mayor Wilson. The Yorkton Housing Committee is engaged in an ongoing search for strategies to address the issue. The city is partnering with other levels of government on various initiatives and working to entice housing developers with incentives and administrative assistance. "We have probably one of the most welcoming arms of any place in Saskatchewan. We hear this from major developers that have done business in Regina, Saskatoon, and out of the province," Wilson says.
The time and money it will take to solve the housing issue, and all the rest of these issues, is in short supply, notes the mayor.
But he hopes that the work of each partner will help remove the obstacles to settling in Yorkton-or at least the ones that can be removed.
"The weather," says Cristina Lombos, as she enters another winter in Saskatchewan. "That's the only thing."
