Yukon government, airline make it easier for Filipinos to move North

The governments of the Yukon and the Philippines signed a memorandum of understanding March 18, to make it easier for Filipinos to immigrate to the Yukon under the territory's Yukon Nominee Program (YNP).

At the same time, Air North announced it signed an agreement with Philippine Airlines, making it possible for travelers to purchase a single ticket to fly between Whitehorse and Manilla.

"It's going to make it easier for us to come to the Yukon while reducing the cost to employers," said Aurora Viernes, president of the Canadian Filipino Association of the Yukon.

The YNP allows employers to hire foreign workers for the long-term if they can't find qualified Canadians or permanent residents. 

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) makes it easier for Filipinos to be identified and recruited through the YNP process, according to a government news release.

The MOU also gets rid of the fees applied by the Philippines to YNP applicants and creates a joint committee for the two governments to cooperate on labour mobility and the YNP.

Ranj Pillai, the Yukon minister of economic development, said the agreement will also reduce the red tape businesses in the territory face to access the program.

According to the territorial government, the Philippines is the single largest country of origin for YNP applicants. 

Filipinos also make up the largest immigrant group in the Yukon, according to the 2016 Census. Of the 4,410 immigrants living in the Yukon in 2016, 926, or 21 per cent are Filipinos. They also form the largest visible minority group in the territory, accounting for 39.7 per cent of those who identify as being part of a visible minority.

Easier to travel back and forth

Viernes said the MOU and the travel agreement will help address some of the labour shortage in the Yukon while making it easier to travel back and forth between the Yukon and the Philippines.

She said that in the past month alone, five employers approached her looking for help to find employees.

She said the agreements give the local Filipino community "a driving force that we strive more to be a good member of the community."

She added that everyone in the local Filipino community is excited about the travel agreement.

She said it will reduce the stress associated with flying to Manila from Whitehorse through Vancouver.

"With this kind of agreement, when you check in, your luggage is [sent] straight to the final destination in the Philippines or other parts in the Philippines," she said. 

"So you will avoid the hassles … because sometimes if we have a limited time of your layover in Vancouver, it just is stressful because you have to get your luggage [and] you have to check in again."