CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Chris van Ouwerkerk’s recent journey to becoming the Green candidate in Charlottetown-Winsloe started with a Facebook post.
On Aug. 31, van Ouwerkerk posted a detailed account of his frustrations dealing with a series of landlords at the Parkdale storefront home of his gourmet meat shop, Butcher and Butcher: Fine Island Meats.
Van Ouwerkerk was displaced from his storefront last June following a zoning dispute between the City of Charlottetown and another business, run by an applicant to the Provincial Nominee Program business stream, who had taken over the St. Peters Rd. storefront. His post made pointed criticisms of the ongoing impacts of the immigration program
The PNP business stream was discontinued in 2018 after years of controversy. It accounted for the majority of PNP immigrants granted permanent residency in P.E.I. for several years prior to 2018.
After van Ouwerkerk made the online post, he said that Green party leader Peter Bevan-Baker reached out to him. The two ended up having a 45-minute conversation over coffee.
“He listened to me, he respected my words. But he also gave me ideas,” van Ouwerkerk said of Bevan-Baker. “I left that conversation feeling like I was heard.”
Van Ouwerkerk said he later decided to apply to become a candidate for the Greens.
The online post that sparked this meeting echoed common sentiments about the now-defunct business stream of the PNP.
In it, van Ouwerkerk says both the owner of the building, as well as the new tenant who would displace his business, were PNP applicants under the entrepreneur stream.
The entrepreneur stream allowed entrepreneurial immigrants to be granted permanent residency after paying a deposit of $200,000, most of which was supposed to go towards an investment in a local business. Another PNP stream, a labour stream, allows permanent residency for immigrants who are hired for jobs where there is a shortage of skilled workers.
Van Ouwerkerk draws a distinction between the labour stream and the entrepreneur stream of the PNP.
“In the past three years I have now had direct interactions with three Provincial Nominee Program candidates under the business stream. I also have an employee who is a Provincial
Nominee Program candidate under the working stream. These two streams could not be more different,” van Ouwerkerk wrote in the post.
“Under one stream you have wealthy, uncaring people buying their way into permanent residency and often times leaving once they do. Under the other you have hardworking, sweet, wonderful people working their butts off to build a place in our community.”
In an interview, van Ouwerkerk said the fallout of the program has also produced a stigma among Islanders that has made it difficult for “PNP businesses” to survive.
He said he wanted to see more oversight of the program from government.
During a Green party nomination meeting on Tuesday, Van Ouwerkerk described himself as a “fiscal conservative.” He clarified that he felt governments should invest in costly social programs, such as a basic income guarantee but should not spend on areas that cannot be demonstrated to have a “markable benefit”.
"There has been a long tradition of wasted money on Prince Edward Island," he said.
Van Ouwerkerk also gave credit to Premier Dennis King for the collaborative style of his government. But he and Green Leader Peter Bevan-Baker also said maintaining King’s government in a minority status would be necessary to ensure it remains collaborative.
“The minority creates the situation where it's necessary for the parties to collaborate," Bevan-Baker said.
"You can't ignore pressure in a minority situation. You can in a majority situation," van Ouwerkerk added.
Voting day for the Charlottetown-Winsloe byelection is Nov. 2.
