Nearly a thousand temporary workers have moved to Beauce in the last year. And some 1,000 more are expected in the next 18 months. To bring all these people into Quebec’s SME paradise, the Beaucerons have concocted a recipe of their own.
In Saint-Martin, 2,600 inhabitants, 5 human resources managers sit around a table. Each of the companies represented employs between 5 and 40 temporary foreign workers. This meeting is crucial, because “without them, a line [de production] out of three does not work,” says one of the representatives.
“I have accommodation to fill located opposite [du restaurant]. I’m looking for someone to rent quickly. Very quickly. I’ll need it for…yesterday. » We nod our heads. We take notes. The message has been sent: a new tenant should not be long.
The five specialists list their problems. How can we reduce the long delays in registering a worker for a French course? What about permits for “vulnerable workers”? What’s new with the conversion of the presbytery into housing? And then here is a little guide to entering the health system…
No choice but to share the good things; the government is struggling to respond to all the requests, laments Fanny Lessard, from the Carrefour jeunesse-emploi de Beauce-Sud, who is leading this conversation between businesses. “At Service Canada, for three calls, you have three people and three different answers. It’s classic. »
An hour later, the trick is done. The Saint-Martin meeting will meet in three months.
The scenario has been repeated from village to village since 2021. Eight Beauceron municipalities are participating in this particular initiative in the MRC of Beauce-Sartigan, the Municipal Reception and Integration Structures (SAIM). “That’s what it’s for: talking about issues, finding solutions. “It’s failing. What do we do with that?” » summarizes the rural development agent for the MRC, Johanne Journeau.
Neighboring regions are starting to look beyond the valleys for inspiration from this method. One wonders how SMEs in other villages keep up. “It changes so quickly that if you miss a single meeting, you lose track,” notes one of the human resources representatives. “The government does not send us sheets to notify us of its changes. »
Saint-Éphrem and the new villager
Saint-Éphrem-de-Beauce, a town of around 2,400 inhabitants, planned to welcome 15 temporary workers last year. No less than 57 finally landed there. The pace is so fast that the available residences do not provide. One of the village’s streets is “not yet built and the land has already found a buyer” for “multi-housing”, explains the general director of the municipality, Bastien Thibaudeau.
Of course, these dozens of new arrivals suffer some disparaging remarks from the original Éphremois. This is a false note, according to Danielle Breton, who is orchestrating integration in the municipality. The proof: a Spanish course is opening these days in the local school in order to satisfy the curiosity of the inhabitants.
It is rather the frantic pace of factory work which becomes the problem of the villages of Beauce. Danielle Breton urges companies to refuse offers of additional work from immigrants in order to facilitate their integration. “Success starts from the companies, the municipalities, the people involved. [Nos messages] go better when companies communicate information. »
The influx of new arrivals in Beauce is unlikely to fade away anytime soon, as the demand for laborers is strong. Of the 1,695 temporary foreign workers currently in Beauce, more than half (54%) arrived within the last 12 months. And in the next 18 months, 1,105 new immigrants will arrive in Beauce, which includes 170 international students, but not family reunifications, according to data from the Beauce Economic Council.
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.