Madam Speaker, I am proud to rise here again to advocate for the people in and around Vegreville, Alberta. It is especially important that I speak on their behalf, because the employees of the case processing centre in Vegreville have been told that they are not allowed to talk publicly or on social media, so I want to share some of their voices.
On November 22, a department email to all employees said that they owe a duty of loyalty to their employer. I believe that the government also has a responsibility to its employees, and it is failing.
In emails and on social media, my constituents have demanded that the minister show a business case, because they highly doubt that the costs of operations for a case-processing centre are less in Edmonton. I agree. The minister must prove that there is actually a solid business case for closing the immigration centre in Vegreville. Just saying that there is a business case does not prove that it exists. The department and the minister have patronized and dismissed my constituents.
On October 27, at a meeting with employees, the assistant deputy minister even said, “Come on now, it's not the end of the world”. However, as one constituent put it, “When we looked at our options, our world slowly began to crumble”.
The minister says that all current employees will be given the opportunity to relocate to Edmonton, but that is not true. The closure could cause about 200 homes to go on the market in a town where 100 homes are already for sale. The people of my riding are writing to the minister saying that they cannot afford to sell their homes in Vegreville for next to nothing. Houses and rent in Edmonton are way more expensive, of course.
Commuting from Vegreville to Edmonton will require two to four hours of driving every day, and it will add costs for many families. One employee said, “I have estimated it will cost me an additional $500 per month to drive, and an additional $91 per month for an LRT pass. Currently I take home approximately $2600 per month, and after the additional expenses, my take-home pay will be approximately $2,000”. This grandmother will be forced to commute three hours a day, effectively destroying the lifestyle she treasures in Vegreville.
The minister is listening to officials who do not get what they are doing to families and to the whole area. A four-year-old wrote about his mother's potential new commute. He said, “When she gets home it would be time for me to get ready for bed and I wouldn't even get to play with her”.
A well-known up-and-coming Olympic athlete wrote, “If the CPC office moves to Edmonton, it will be impossible for me to commute four hours a day, care for my son, and train”.
The truth is that all employees don't actually have options, because, as one wrote, “Relocating isn't an option. You cannot relocate a farm”. My constituents are rural people. They love their rural way of life, and the case processing centre gives them stable income and employment.
As another wrote, “If I were to choose to commute, it would leave my children unattended, as their father toils for 12 to 16 hours a day on the farm. The time spent away from family would mean no time for volunteering, quality family time, or homework help”.
This is a needless attack on people and communities. Many Vegreville residents left to get an education and chose to move back, because they love their small town.
A mother wrote, “To work at CPC Vegreville, so close to home, has enabled me to be a mother and a wife and contribute to my family's financial well-being. It's not right that a woman has to choose between a career and her family”.
The minister claims that the closure is simply moving 280 jobs from Vegreville to Edmonton, but it would impact 250 spouses' jobs, 350 school-aged children, and dozens of businesses. It is kicking a small Alberta town when it is already down.
My question for the minister is this. Will he immediately reverse this unfounded edict and save the jobs and futures of these rural Albertans?