Chibougamau, businesses are responding to the labor shortage through international recruitment, which is changing the face of the northern city. A community of more than a hundred Filipinos is notably in the process of being formed there under the impetus of a very large employer in the region, Chantiers Chibougamau.
In a cloud of dust, trucks heavily laden with black spruce, jack pine and fir enter the site of several square kilometers of the forestry company. The logs go to the building where they will be optimally cut thanks to artificial intelligence technologies.
The huge factory made up of a few buildings is largely automated. But hundreds of workers are still necessary for its operation. In particular, it manufactures building structures in cross-laminated timber, which are increasingly sought after around the world.
In the assembly section, several Filipinos create what look like giant-size IKEA sets for a school in Rimouski and a 10-story tower in Toronto. One of them is Glenn Santiago. The one who proudly wears his name on his protective helmet traveled from Manila to James Bay a year ago. In his home country, he worked in a similar factory. “The salary is much better, that’s why I came,” he says, his smile ear-to-ear.
Realizing that its labor pool was dwindling, which put its production capacity at risk, Chantiers Chibougamau began selecting employees in the Philippines in 2018 through an agency. This country was chosen in particular because of its large number of skilled forestry workers, who are also used to working with the same machines.
There are now more than 50 Filipinos in the Chibougamau plant, and represent more or less 20% of the staff. And the company is continuing its efforts to recruit dozens more. “They are essential to our ability to deliver our orders and contribute to the Quebec economy,” says Frédéric Verreault, Executive Director of Corporate Development at Chantiers Chibougamau.
Given their number, they now form a small community in which links are forged, says Mr. Santiago. “Almost all Filipinos are now our friends. We get together and do activities like basketball, cycling, fishing,” says the man, who misses his wife and three children. His wife also began the process in December to also come and work at Chantiers Chibougamau. “If we are lucky enough to live here for a long time, I will take it, because life is better,” he explains.
The family made up of Fergie Almendares, Stella Cabales and little Zayn Ethan, she is already reunited. Mr. Almendares is the first to be disembarked from the plane, in 2019, eight months before his wife. Both are employed by Chantiers Chibougamau; their son goes to school in French.
“Canada is seen as a dream country in the Philippines. More money, good government, more services”, says the father of the family, who was hardly disappointed – except perhaps by the waiting time at the hospital.
take care of it
Chantiers Chibougamau is moving heaven and earth not to lose these precious assets, who have temporary work permits. The company wants them to obtain their permanent residence and settle in Nord-du-Québec for good.
“François Legault said [au sujet des immigrants] : “You have to take less of it, but take care of it.” We need to take more of it, but still take care of it,” says Mr. Verreault.
The logging company has therefore helped several spouses of its employees to find work in the region. This is the case of Annie Bangate, who arrived two years after her husband. A law graduate, she now does administrative work in a notary office in Chibougamau. Other Filipinas could work in the hotels, shops and daycare centers of the city of 7,200 inhabitants, which is also sorely lacking in employees.
Moreover, the Hotel Chibougamau has also embarked on international recruitment. One of their maintenance workers, Paulin Bado, left his native Burkina Faso for James Bay in 2021 after a year of dealing with Immigration Canada and a year of waiting due to COVID-19 .
He hopes to succeed in renewing his temporary work permit, which expires in a year. “I really want to settle here. I was born in a small village and I like small towns,” said the 45-year-old, whose wife and four children stayed in Africa.
According to him, a small African community is also being built in Chibougamau. His little brother also wants to work for the hotel, at reception. But Mr. Bado believes that the immigration process, long and complicated, would cause him to lose hope.
A new neighborhood
Given the serious shortage of housing in the municipality, Chantiers Chibougamau will soon begin the construction of more than 30 single-family homes. These are millions of dollars of investment on the part of the company, which is also trying to obtain government support.
“It’s the whole community that will be lifted up if we have houses conducive to the establishment of families, who will put down roots here,” said Mr. Verreault. There were waves of Eastern European immigrants who built Chibougamau in the 1950s and 1960s, whose descendants are still here today. It’s like a replica of that, for wood processing needs, from the Philippines. »
The company also relies on the francization of these newcomers, in particular paying a salary to its recruits so that they take language courses on the Internet before arriving in Quebec. Despite everything, many Filipino workers are afraid that their immigration process will be blocked by their weak command of French, which they find difficult to learn.
Their employer is also worried. “How do we start looking for solutions so that, if we don’t reach a certain threshold for a family member, there isn’t an exodus of these people to Ontario? asks Mr. Verreault.
It’s time to think about a northern immigration policy, adapted to the unique reality of James Bay, thinks the man, who is also convinced that the region can be a wonderful laboratory for pilot projects and new ways to do.
In collaboration with the Crees
The surrounding Cree communities, which are growing and located within an hour and a half drive of Chibougamau, are also a potential source of workers and partners for the forestry company. The latter counts many Aboriginal people among its subcontractors, particularly in the cutting and transportation of wood.
Mr. Verreault also notes that the Crees are generally “more fulfilled in the forest than between the four walls of a factory”. “If they work in their community or in a mine in the region, they are not taxed, whereas if they come on our payroll, they will be taxed on their income like a [allochtone] adds Mr. Verreault.
To collaborate with these communities to the extent of their aspirations and preferences, Chantiers Chibougamau discusses regularly with their chiefs. Projects are already underway, including the opening of a sawmill in Waswanipi, which will transform logs into planks, and the assembly of modular homes in Mistissini.
Through these partnerships and through immigration, the exploitation of the Nord-du-Québec forest is therefore called upon to continue, notes the executive director of business development.