Immigrants in Demand in Rural BC, Canucks Number One Choice for Fabian Brunnstrom : VancouverIAM

This is a selection of recent popular blog articles from VancouverIAM where you will find the best blogs from Vancouver, BC as well as video uploads, social networking, rumors, and blog authoring

Swedish Prospect Fabian Brunnstrom Being Courted by Canucks

The latest from Waiting for Stanley, a Canuck’s blog, reports on the recent rumours that the Canucks are “frontrunners to sign intriguing Swedish prospect Fabian Brunnstrom.” Brunnstrom is “a talented 22-year old” who is about to become “an unrestricted free agent.” According to an article in the Vancouver Sun, we’re one of his main choices along with Detroit and Toronto.

The post states that Brunnstom has size, great speed and “is classified as a late-bloomer.” He may have a scoring touch, “but his stats with Karlstad this season show that he is more of a playmaker, with 24 assists and 32 points in 38 games.” Apparently, every NHL team is scoping him out and “if signed by anyone he will earn an NHL entry-level contract.” Hakan Loob, the Farejestad GM, says he’s “coming pretty much from nowhere” and has the potential to become quite strong. He also warns against “rushing him at the NHL level” and says he has a “good future, “but if he's thrown into the NHL too soon, he might not do anything.”

Immigrants Find Better Life in Rural BC

Chinese in Vancouver reports that a recent study shows an increasing number of BC immigrants are “choosing to settle in rural areas” and in doing so “tend to achieve economic integration much faster.” In particular, since “natural resources and energy industries are red hot in northern BC” there are many job opportunities. SUCCESS's chairman Ken Tung says, “Together with a rapidly aging population, interior communities are desperately seeking new immigrants.” And because demand for labour is greater than supply, according to Tung, “new immigrants can earn a much better pay too.”

Director of immigrant services of MOSAIC Siu Man Chan agrees. He says that “many of his clients who have settled in rural areas report a satisfying life.” This provides “reinforcement for new immigrants that Canada is a promising land.” Tung adds that new immigrants have become “the new jewels” in these communities. The full StatCan report is available in the post.

Victory for Hotel Workers Heralds New Opportunity for Union Activism

Tom Sandborn, blogging for the Tyee, reports on a recent victory for Vancouver area suburban hotel employees, said by some to “herald new opportunities for union activism.” In their new deals, the Delta Vancouver Airport in Richmond and the Hilton Metrotown in Burnaby “will dramatically improve wages and working conditions for a workforce of mostly recent immigrants and women.” The newly ratified contracts affect almost 400 employees. “They join hundreds of fellow Unite Here Local 40 workers at four downtown Vancouver hotels who recently won much improved contracts after nearly walking out.”

Four years ago, according to the post,Unite Here grew from “a merger of unions that had been honing a community-based, and often militant, approach to organizing.” Their formation “brought together 440,000 members, including the largest union local in the United States, Las Vegas's Culinary Workers.” A graduate of Yale in 1967, co-president of Unite Here John Wilhelm “answered an ad in a New Haven paper inviting applicants to train as union organizers.” The job changed Wilhelm's life, “and may have changed the face of North American labour.” Unite Here invests nearly half its budget into organizing drives. “For Canadian unions with a serious commitment to organizing, the comparable number rarely goes above 10 per cent, according to Vancouver & District Labour Council president Bill Saunders.”

It’s Time to Push the Homeless Issue

Writer Jody Patterson’s Closer Look reports on the recent progress, or at least awareness, of the BC homeless issue. She has “wondered in the last couple of years just how dark things would have to get before something finally happened.” However, recent announcements give her reason to remain optimistic. Last week, for instance, “the province announced new money to house and shelter 170 people living on or near the streets in Victoria.” She has also heard “that the Crown corporation is working hard to get some action going around new housing.” It’s not a dramatic improvement, but “we’re starting to notice we’ve got a full-blown provincial emergency on our hands.”

She states in her post that these are welcome developments. “So is word that the Vancouver Island Health Authority has created specialized outreach teams, which have proven their worth several times over in cities that have launched them.” There is business sector financial support in “a number of important social initiatives” in Victoria. “Other municipalities in the region are joining the struggle, an acknowledgement that the crisis simply can’t be borne by the City of Victoria alone.” There is even “talk of a few more detox beds.”  None of this means we can stop being diligent. The housing announcement “provides roughly a tenth of what’s actually needed” to help the 1,500 homeless in Victoria. “Our actions need to match the size of the problem - and it’s significant.” It’s time to push, she concludes, to think bigger.

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