source: news.sawf.org
Not since the late 1800s when tens of thousands of Europeans settled in Canada's wild west have so many people migrated here, but recent newcomers are still too few to abate a growing demand for oil industry workers. Western Alberta province sits atop an estimated 175 billion barrels of oil, ranking second behind Saudi Arabia in petroleum reserves.
But due to high extraction costs, the deposits were long neglected except by local companies. Since 2000, skyrocketing crude prices and improved extraction technologies have lured significant foreign investment that has pushed oil sands production to one million barrels per day. And, according to a recent Alberta Energy and Utilities Board report, output is expected to triple over the next decade, making Alberta one of the biggest energy producers in the world. But a shortage of skilled workers, despite attracting 57,000 migrants from across Canada and 20,000 immigrants from abroad to the province last year, is now threatening to curb its unprecedented economic growth, say officials. "Right now, we know that in the next 10 years, we'll need some 400,000 workers and even if we are educating more and attracting more, we'll still be short about 109,000," Iris Evans, Alberta's minister of employment, immigration and industry, told AFP. The province's unemployment rate has fallen below 4.0 percent to its lowest level ever. To fill job vacancies, Canada is now looking to boost the number of temporary worker permits issued for Alberta's booming oil sands industry, and is aggressively recruiting foreign workers in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. "We recognize that without immigration, we are not going to meet our expectations," Evans said.
But labor bosses have expressed concern that foreign workers are vulnerable to being exploited by unscrupulous employers. On its website, the Alberta Federation of Labor says, "some employers take advantage of these workers by not paying them fairly, charging high rents and making unfair demands." "They are new to Canada and unfamiliar with our rules, customs and, often, language. They are dependent upon their employer for their visa, their work and often their housing and transportation," the union says. To complicate matters, housing is in very short supply here, and there are not enough tradespeople to build more homes to meet growing demand. "Fort McMurray is a great place to live if you can find a place to live," says Pascal, a new arrival from Quebec province, sitting in front of his camper in a trailer park a few kilometers (miles) from Canada's oil sands capital. The campground is home to hundreds of oil industry workers, and hundreds more are on a waiting list to get in, willing to pay monthly fees comparable to the cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Toronto, Canada's largest metropolis, to park their own mobile homes in a dirt field - about 865 US dollars monthly. The population of Fort McMurray, about 700 kilometers (450 miles) north of Calgary, has doubled to 65,000 since 1996, and could triple in the next decade.
Fort McMurray mayor Melissa Blake said the local shelter is overcrowded and many newcomers are unable to find any lodging. "There has always been homelessness in our community. With all those people coming in you expect more of that, but what is actually happening is that the nature of our homeless people has changed. We have people working, earning money and they still cannot access affordable housing," she said. Blake blames a lack of funding from the province, which generates oil sands royalties, for lagging municipal services too. Pascal's abode is austere, but the campground is a bargain compared to the cost of renting an apartment in Fort McMurray, which, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing, boasts the highest average rental costs in the country - up to 3,500 US dollars per month. His neighbor Steve, from eastern Ontario province, however, has had enough of living poor while earning a small fortune in the oil sector. He also complained about the widespread sale of narcotics and prostitution that high wages and small town boredom attracts, not to mention the freezing cold. "I'm getting... out of here," he told AFP. "It was minus 47 (degrees Celsius) in the winter and these... trailers are not made for that kind of cold."
Not since the late 1800s when tens of thousands of Europeans settled in Canada's wild west have so many people migrated here, but recent newcomers are still too few to abate a growing demand for oil industry workers. Western Alberta province sits atop an estimated 175 billion barrels of oil, ranking second behind Saudi Arabia in petroleum reserves.
But due to high extraction costs, the deposits were long neglected except by local companies. Since 2000, skyrocketing crude prices and improved extraction technologies have lured significant foreign investment that has pushed oil sands production to one million barrels per day. And, according to a recent Alberta Energy and Utilities Board report, output is expected to triple over the next decade, making Alberta one of the biggest energy producers in the world. But a shortage of skilled workers, despite attracting 57,000 migrants from across Canada and 20,000 immigrants from abroad to the province last year, is now threatening to curb its unprecedented economic growth, say officials. "Right now, we know that in the next 10 years, we'll need some 400,000 workers and even if we are educating more and attracting more, we'll still be short about 109,000," Iris Evans, Alberta's minister of employment, immigration and industry, told AFP. The province's unemployment rate has fallen below 4.0 percent to its lowest level ever. To fill job vacancies, Canada is now looking to boost the number of temporary worker permits issued for Alberta's booming oil sands industry, and is aggressively recruiting foreign workers in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. "We recognize that without immigration, we are not going to meet our expectations," Evans said.
But labor bosses have expressed concern that foreign workers are vulnerable to being exploited by unscrupulous employers. On its website, the Alberta Federation of Labor says, "some employers take advantage of these workers by not paying them fairly, charging high rents and making unfair demands." "They are new to Canada and unfamiliar with our rules, customs and, often, language. They are dependent upon their employer for their visa, their work and often their housing and transportation," the union says. To complicate matters, housing is in very short supply here, and there are not enough tradespeople to build more homes to meet growing demand. "Fort McMurray is a great place to live if you can find a place to live," says Pascal, a new arrival from Quebec province, sitting in front of his camper in a trailer park a few kilometers (miles) from Canada's oil sands capital. The campground is home to hundreds of oil industry workers, and hundreds more are on a waiting list to get in, willing to pay monthly fees comparable to the cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Toronto, Canada's largest metropolis, to park their own mobile homes in a dirt field - about 865 US dollars monthly. The population of Fort McMurray, about 700 kilometers (450 miles) north of Calgary, has doubled to 65,000 since 1996, and could triple in the next decade.
Fort McMurray mayor Melissa Blake said the local shelter is overcrowded and many newcomers are unable to find any lodging. "There has always been homelessness in our community. With all those people coming in you expect more of that, but what is actually happening is that the nature of our homeless people has changed. We have people working, earning money and they still cannot access affordable housing," she said. Blake blames a lack of funding from the province, which generates oil sands royalties, for lagging municipal services too. Pascal's abode is austere, but the campground is a bargain compared to the cost of renting an apartment in Fort McMurray, which, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing, boasts the highest average rental costs in the country - up to 3,500 US dollars per month. His neighbor Steve, from eastern Ontario province, however, has had enough of living poor while earning a small fortune in the oil sector. He also complained about the widespread sale of narcotics and prostitution that high wages and small town boredom attracts, not to mention the freezing cold. "I'm getting... out of here," he told AFP. "It was minus 47 (degrees Celsius) in the winter and these... trailers are not made for that kind of cold."
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