Family staying in N.L. hopes more can be done to help other immigrants stay

With severalSyrian immigrant families recently decidingto leave Newfoundland and Labrador for greener pastures, a St. John's man who has decided to stay says more needs to be done to helpimmigrants be able to work in their chosen profession.

Talal Elseyadicame to the province from Syria with his wife and four children in 2016. He openedSedra Foods, an international food market in St. John's,earlier this year, after two years of saving money.

"I had this idea in the last two years. I think about this and I [didn't] have money before. I worked very hard to make money and open this business," he told CBC News on Tuesday.

"I like this province. The people are friendly. This is my home now. For me, I think to stay here and I like this city."

Although Elseyadi has chosen to stay in the province, he knows of other families who have decided to leave to seek new opportunities. According toKhaled Alsharif, who is planning to move with his family to Toronto within the next year in search of a more steady job, at least 10 other Syrian families have decided to leave in the last two months.

A mechanic by trade, Elseyadisaid he wishes his credentials were more easily transferable to the province. He said he has the paperwork and certification to work as a mechanic in Syria, but is unable to do so in Newfoundland and Labrador.

"When I check [on what I need] to work as a mechanic, it's very hard for me because I don'thave [a] certificate for this," he said. "When I need [a] certificate for a mechanic, I need to maybe go for college and stay four years when I [already] have this certificate for work."

He said he has heard similar concerns from others in the community, including those who are leaving to find better work.

"Some people speak about having different jobs in different provinces," Elseyadi said.

Government working tobetterrecognize credentials, Byrne

Immigration, Skills and Labour Minister Gerry Byrne said he issaddened by news of members of the Syrian community leaving the province. However, he said, it is their right as Canadian citizens to do so.

"We're all very sad with the decision for others to seek new horizons and new opportunities," he said."We are greater and better because of those who were former refugees, who became Canadian citizens, and settled here in Newfoundland and Labrador."

He said the province has been working to increase the number of refugees and immigrants who come to the province since the introduction of the Liberal government's Way Forward plan, which aimsto bring 1,700 immigrants a year into the province by 2022.

Byrne saidthat target has already been met, with the province taking in 1,800 people in 2019.

"We are doubling down not only on immigration, but how to succeed in immigration," he said. "We have particular challenges, but we're up to meeting those challenges."

Bryne said the provincial government is also working with professional bodies to improve the transfer process for credentials from other countries.

"Many new Newfoundlanders and Labradorians come with significant skills in significant capacities," he said. "Credential recognition is sometimes often a matter of professional bodies. Many, many professional bodies in particular health care, for example self-govern credentials to practise.

"So we are already working with many professional bodies to ensure that overseas credentials are indeed recognized by our province."

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