Employed by a body shop in Quebec, a Moroccan of origin, whose work permit was not renewed due to an administrative error, has been fighting for more than six months to be able to return to work. His employer, the Saillant Group, deplores the obstacle course in which he is engaged in spite of himself to be able to make work again this body painter which he badly needs.
“It’s really a human tragedy that is happening, in the midst of a labor shortage as well! says Mélissa Dumont, Director of Communications and Human Resources for Groupe Saillant. We are sold international recruitment as a solution to the labor shortage, but I have an employee who worked for us and who we cannot even employ anymore. »
Along with four other compatriots recruited for their skills during a Quebec mission to Morocco, Mohcine El Kandouri began working for the Saillant Group during the pandemic. A few months before the work permits for these employees expired, the Quebec company entrusted a firm of immigration consultants, hired for the recruitment and processing of applications, with the task of renewing the permits. They were all renewed by Immigration Canada, except that of Mr. El Kandouri, who only learned the bad news very late, in September 2022. His file had just been definitively closed a month earlier due to a missing document.
It’s really a human drama that is happening, in the midst of a labor shortage as well! We are sold international recruitment as a solution to the labor shortage, but I have an employee who worked for us and who we cannot even employ anymore.
“We applied for license renewals for all our workers and did the necessary follow-up to ensure that our employee was legal and could work. We were very surprised to learn that his license had been refused, still surprised Mélissa Dumont. Having known that earlier, we could have done things differently. »
“I came to work, not to stay idle,” said Mohcine El Kandouri. They came looking for me because there are a lot of employees missing in my field. Now nothing moves. It’s as if my life has stopped. »
A missing document
According to our information, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) had demanded in April 2022 that he be provided with Mr. El Kandouri’s Quebec Acceptance Certificate, a mandatory document to issue a work permit. The principal concerned was never informed that this document was missing since his file was in the hands of the consulting firm ImmigrEmploi, to which the request had been made. “I was surprised and shocked. I didn’t know anything about it,” said the Moroccan worker.
I came to work, not to sit idle. They came looking for me because there are a lot of employees missing in my field. Now nothing moves. It’s as if my life has stopped.
The Saillant Group says it had a lot of trouble understanding what had happened. “We ended up knowing that the consultant had meanwhile left the firm, but the file should still be under her responsibility, believes Mme Dumont. It’s a really unpleasant situation that impacts a lot of people. »
Asked by The duty, the president of the firm ImmigrEmploi, Luc Gauvin, explains this unfortunate situation by a “computer problem”. The consultant in charge of Mr. El Kandouri’s file would never have received a message from IRCC informing her that there were missing documents in the file. “She was counting on that email and it never came back,” he said. When she went to see [en septembre, dans le portail d’IRCC], she saw the correspondence asking for the Certificate of Acceptance, but it was too late. According to him, there was “another bug” of the government site, which complicated the exchanges.
A difficult wait
Groupe Saillant says it has gone out of its way to help its worker recover his temporary worker status. “As soon as we found out, we contacted a law firm with which our corporation of dealers does business, and a lawyer worked hard to help us resolve his situation,” explains Mélissa Dumont.
In mid-November, an application for restoration of status was made, as well as an application for a temporary resident permit, accompanied by a work permit, to prevent Mr. El Kandouri from being inadmissible. The company even knocked on the door of the constituency offices of federal deputies Joël Lightbound and Jean-Yves Duclos to try to move the file forward.
Mme Dumont says she is sorry for this worker of Moroccan origin whose life has been on hold for more than six months. “Beyond the loss for our company, we are talking here about a poor worker who is struggling to make ends meet. We are a human company and we do what we can to help, but we feel that our hands are tied. We can’t do much for him right now. »
Since last fall, Mohcine El Kandouri lives in a small studio in Quebec without any income. He receives help from a food bank for food and is now at the end of his savings which are paying his rent. “I will soon be going to live with a friend,” says the Moroccan worker. He says he calls IRCC every day, which means waiting in line for at least an hour. “I ask about my request. I’m told it’s being processed. »
Whether the error was made by the negligence of the consulting firm or by IRCC, Mélissa Dumont deplores the great “rigidity” of the immigration system. “I understand that they can’t start dealing with each file individually, but isn’t there someone who could take 15 minutes to settle this file? she sighs.