The valleys of the Chaudière and Etchemin rivers, which criss-cross the Chaudière-Appalaches region, did not wait for the election to be called to be lined with signs. Regardless of the village, the same prayer is heard in the region. “Personnel wanted” in Sainte-Claire; “Join our team” in Sainte-Marie; “The quality of life awaits you here… Come home on Monday! in Beauceville. Everywhere resounds the refrain of the Romans of Asterix: “Get involved, they said! »
Recruits, however, are rare in Chaudière-Appalaches, where the unemployment rate is 3.6%. The shortage hits so hard that it alters the voice of Hélène Sévigny, leaning early in the morning on the bar of the St-Joseph bistro.
“I worked 74 hours last week and I look like that today,” says the waitress from Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, pointing to her throat sore from smoking and the evenings screaming at her. above the counter.
Behind the barrels, the manager, Karine Lessard, goes one better. “I have one that will soon be 12 days online. »
Nobody, in this bar lit by the glow of slot machines, adheres to the reasoning of François Legault, who insists that the shortage of labor makes it possible to improve working conditions.
Disillusionment with the political game floats here, tenacious as the scent of beer. “I don’t know who I’m going to vote for, but it won’t be for Legault,” continues Karine. “As long as I get screwed, I’d rather not vote. I will cancel my vote, ”slice Hélène.
Recruit abroad
It is not just in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce that the lack of labor is a concern. In this region, which the CAQ won in 2018 and which derives 28% of its GDP from the manufacturing sector, the shortage of personnel is costing industries dearly. A report commissioned last year by the Economic Council of Beauce (CEB) teaches that, if the factories were running at full speed in Chaudière-Appalaches, two billion additional dollars would rain on its territory.
The report written by Deloitte notes that, in this region, 75% of the 309 companies surveyed say they have to refuse contracts for lack of employees, and 89% of them say they have vacancies.
Several companies want to recruit abroad, but are struggling to navigate the increasingly inextricable administrative maze of immigration, deplores Sylvain Bernard.
Le Devoir reached the owner of the OSI Group, in Saint-Georges, on the phone as he drove to the Quebec City airport to welcome a new South American colleague. “It took 16 months to bring him here. It’s appalling! And it’s costing us about $10,000 a head. »
Another Beauceron flagship, Garaga, recently hired five Ukrainian refugees at its factory in Saint-Georges. “It was a blessing,” says Marco Vachon, director of recruitment. The challenges, however, remain numerous with these new employees who have the advantage of already being in Quebec, but who barely speak English. “We communicate as best we can,” explains Mr. Vachon. At least we have Google Translate. »
François Legault believes that his government must limit the number of immigrants and favor francophones to protect the language and social cohesion. Marco Vachon, he believes that Quebec does not have this luxury. “It is certain that, if we ask to welcome immigrants who speak French on leaving, it is doomed to failure. We shoot ourselves in the foot. »
African native of Kenya, Steve Andama, 34, has been working in Quebec since December 2019. He only converses in English. “I was so excited to learn French when I arrived here,” he says. I was promised lessons, but it never materialized. So I bought lessons online. »
An accountant in his country of origin, he says he first worked at Olymel once he arrived in Beauce. The strike forced him to find another job. “You have to do the job that no one wants. Everyone manages you, even the internship student. »
A refugee in Quebec due to the instability in Kenya, Steve has been applying for permanent residency for three years. The steps are dragging on, and the sword of Damocles hanging over his future in Beauce could fall next year, when his work permit ends.
“I don’t understand,” he said, discouraged. Since I arrived, I have never missed a day of work. I pay my rent, I pay my taxes. I hope the government will recognize our efforts and grant our wish to stay. »
Immigration and automation
The outgoing CAQ MP for Beauce-Sud, Samuel Poulin, admits that the lack of personnel represents “a challenge” in his riding. But he insists: “Our companies have never ‘performed’ so well, and their order books are full for years to come. It’s going very, very well. »
For the 31-year-old elected official who is fighting for a third campaign, “international immigration is part of the solution”. He says he is convinced that “we are capable, within Canada, of making gains at the federal level” to protect French. It is enough, according to Mr. Poulin, to “continue to put the pressure on. The CAQ is also counting on automation to relieve the shortage, he adds.
According to the polls, the duel promises to be tight between the caquist and his conservative opponent, Jonathan Poulin. “For me, the labor shortage is the number one local issue,” says the 30-year-old rookie. His diagnosis is clear: the lack of workers in Beauce is “catastrophic”.
“I’m talking about it everywhere, every day,” says this former liberal activist who became a PCQ candidate at the turn of the pandemic. His party is proposing, among other things, tax measures to encourage workers over 60 to stay on the job. He wants to establish, like the CAQ, an annual threshold of 50,000 immigrants, sorted according to their “civilizational compatibility”. As for the repatriation of federal powers in immigration matters, Jonathan Poulin believes that “it is not by bickering and pecking that we are going to win. Everyone is going to lose, in the end.”
“Like a drought”
In her business in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Charlotte Turmel struggles against a labeller who seems, unlike her, ready for retirement. The 63-year-old woman reigns energetically over Tabagie Jacques, distributing cigarettes and 6/49 bills. “We check if you are a millionaire? she says to a regular. Fortune will not be for this time: next client!
“I tell you this quite frankly: I am not a political girl, she confides over her counter. It gets on my nerves. A customer waiting for his package of “McDo, king size », Drives the point home. ” They are all the same ! Me, I’m just going there to cancel my vote. However, tobacco also suffers from it, the shortage.
“We are recruiting 13-year-olds who have never worked,” laments Mme Turmal.
Regardless of the immigration thresholds, Beauce is already changing. “My boyfriend had a house, says Mme Turmal. He sold it to a farmer: Guatemalans live in it now. I said to the gentleman: “the others, in their country, there are ten of them in an apartment and then it’s the same. They are in the wadding here…”
The labor shortage is rife everywhere in Chaudière-Appalaches, regardless of the size of the businesses. “It’s like a drought,” says Hélène Latulippe, director general of the CEB. The sun is shining, businesses are ready to grow, but the basin that irrigates them is getting poorer. »