Today, Minister of Economic Development Ranj Pillai and Secretary of the Philippines Department of Labor and Employment Silvestre Bello III signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Employment and Protection of Filipinos under the Yukon Nominee Program (YNP).
The MOU improves coordination between the Yukon and the Philippines on labour mobility and specifically:
- improves the ability for Filipinos to be identified and recruited through the YNP process;
- supports the safety of Filipino nominees coming to the Yukon through requirements for Yukon employers under the YNP;
- formalizes Yukon-Philippines cooperation on labour mobility and the YNP through the creation of a Joint Committee;
- waives existing fees applied by the Philippines to Filipino YNP applicants; and
- clarifies the interaction between the YNP and the Philippines pre-screened and vetted pool of qualified Filipino workers.
As part of this agreement the Republic of the Philippines will be developing a Yukon specific pre-departure program for Filipino nominees, which the Government of Yukon will support.
The MOU follows a letter of intent signed in 2019 between the Government of Yukon and the Government of the Philippines to establish a framework to undertake negotiations on immigration programming and pursue cooperation on human resource development between the Philippines and Yukon.
This agreement will provide greater opportunities to people in the Philippines who are looking for employment in the Yukon, while reducing red tape for businesses in the territory to access the Yukon Nominee Program. The Republic of the Philippines has been an excellent partner and the Filipino community continues to contribute to the Yukon’s diverse culture and economy. I want to thank Secretary Bello for our shared work to complete this initiative and City of Whitehorse Councillor Joy Curteanu, President of the Canadian Filipino Association of the Yukon Aurora Viernes, and entrepreneur Dominic Pelayo for joining me for this historic day. I look forward to welcoming more people from the Philippines to the Yukon.
Minister of Economic Development Ranj Pillai
It will be nice to see you again, Minister Pillai, as it has been three years since we first met to sign the Philippines-Yukon Joint Communique, paving the way for this agreement that would further Philippine and Yukon bilateral relations in the areas of labour, employment and migration. I am grateful to the Government of Yukon for its full cooperation, support and interest in this endeavour.
Philippines Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment Silvestre Bello III
The Yukon Nominee Program allows the Government of Yukon to respond to labour needs in the territory in a sustainable way, while at the same time ensuring that job opportunities are still available for Yukoners.
The Philippines is the single largest country of origin for Yukon Nominee Program applicants.
The Yukon formally committed to negotiating an immigration Memorandum of Understanding with the Philippines in August 2019 through the 2019 Yukon-Philippines Letter of Intent.
Renée Francoeur
Cabinet Communications
867-334-9194
renee.francoeur@yukon.ca
Damian Topps
Communications, Economic Development
867-667-5378
damian.topps@yukon.ca