(Photo credit: Community Futures North Okanagan)

By Vernon Matters Staff

RNIP program

‘I love the people here’: Pilot program helps restaurant owner settle in Vernon

Dec 31, 2023 | 12:00 PM

When Sukvhir Sran came to visit her daughter in Vernon, she had no plans to stay. She had a good life in India. She owned and managed a private polytechnic college and hostel in the Punjab region with her husband, and their young son was still in school at home.

Then, she breathed the fresh mountain air.

Wrapped in a cosy pink sweater inside Namaste Authentic Indian Cuisine, the restaurant she owns and manages, Sukhvir says she is exactly where she’s meant to be.

“There was a time when my husband was talking about moving to Edmonton or Winnipeg to be with family, but I had to be honest. Vernon is the community that gave me permanent residency. As long as I’m alive, I will never move from this community. We’re winding up our lives in India and we want to invest in this community,” Sukhvir smiles. “We’re very happy here.”

And it all happened thanks to a chance meeting arranged by her daughter, Taran. While studying business at Okanagan College, Taran waited tables at Namaste. She knew the owner was looking for a competent manager to run the Vernon location and thought her mother was the perfect fit.

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“Taran told me, ‘Mom, there is someone you can see for a manager job. What if you try and we can think about it? I don’t want to go back to India after completing my studies.’ I said OK, and she arranged a meeting with the owner,” Sukhvir said.

She knew instantly it was a perfect match. Only, as a visitor, she first needed the right paperwork to be able to work in Canada. She knew it would be possible, but with multiple programs and consultants, she just didn’t know the best way to make her newfound dream of staying a reality. And then she heard about the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) program.

Launched as a pilot in 2020, RNIP helps communities and businesses benefit from the immigration of skilled workers by creating a path to permanent residency. The North Okanagan was selected as one of two communities in B.C., and one of 11 in Canada, to participate. The RNIP program later expanded to the Shuswap and was extended until 2024.

Thrilled by her discovery, Sukhvir reached out to Community Futures North Okanagan and met the RNIP coordinator, Ward Mercer.

“He’s such a nice person. He helped me understand how the program works and made it easy for me. I called the owner at Namaste, told him about RNIP, and asked him to support me in this program,” Sukhvir said.

After a quick trip to the border to sort out her work permit, Sukhvir got straight to work. Within a few short months, she became a permanent resident, and her family was reunited in Canada.

As the manager at the helm of the Namaste location in Vernon, Sukhvir was directly involved in the success of the restaurant. In September of 2022, when the owner decided to sell and focus his efforts on the Salmon Arm location, Sukhvir quickly put her hand up and bought the restaurant.

“Cooking is my passion, right from the beginning when I was a child. I knew the recipes, and within a couple of days, I was comfortable with the paperwork. Because I was running it, I knew the numbers and knew how it was going,” Sukhvir explained. “I thought that we could grow this business and the community around it. If we maintain our quality, I know we will do good in this business.”

Today, more than a year after purchasing Namaste, Sukhvir says she’s settled into the role and the community. Meanwhile, Taran is finishing her bachelor’s degree and their son has started high school in Vernon.

And she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“The community has supported me a lot. Every time people come and eat here, they say thank you for cooking and serving them, but I should be thanking them for helping me out,” Sukhvir remarked. “I say I have three or four families now. We started making families when we moved here, and now our families are all Canadian. I really love the people here.”

The RNIP program is currently open to applications in priority industries. To learn more about the program, eligibility requirements and how RNIP can help you grow your business, visit rnipnorthokanaganshuswap.ca.