The province’s Immigration Minister is calling for greater cooperation with Ottawa on advancing immigration efforts.

Minister Gerry Byrne yesterday announced that Newfoundland and Labrador has maxed out its federal allocation for permanent residency spaces—stalling many immigration efforts.

Pointing out many changes that he believes needs to be made at the federal level in terms of immigration, he’s calling for a doubling of that allocation for 2023

Byrne says since early October, the federal government has had 25 hotel rooms on reserve in St. John’s for Ukrainian refugees. Even though the rooms have never been used, the feds are still paying for them.

He wishes for the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to have staff in this province to help process applications and answer questions.

Then, he says there’s funding for the Association for New Canadians, which receives $10,000 per refugee they support.

He says a similar organization in PEI receives $70,000 while the one in Nova Scotia receives $45,000. “That needs to change,” says Byrne.