Chef Hamza Salim El Harrak landed in Whistler in late 2019 with one goal in mind: to obtain his permanent resident (PR) status.
One of roughly 85 Moroccan chefs that have arrived in the resort since September 2018 through Ottawa’s International Mobility Program, which promotes Francophone immigration to French minority communities, El Harrak was faced with a dilemma when COVID-19 closed Whistler Blackcomb for the season and his work at the Rendezvous Lodge and Christine’s had suddenly dried up: Should he wait out the pandemic in the hopes of eventually being rehired, or maintain his employment status by finding work elsewhere?
“We decided to leave Whistler and B.C. because it [is] hard for us to get the PR, not like here in Manitoba or Saskatchewan,” he said, referring to a group of fellow Moroccans he recently followed to Portage la Prairie, Man., where he was sponsored by Boston Pizza.
It’s true that B.C. is one of, if not the most challenging provinces to secure PR status. Between the $700 processing fee (compared to, say, $350 in Saskatchewan) and the higher number of “selection factor” points required to qualify, the process is cheaper and less onerous elsewhere. Factor in the added barriers of cost of living and housing in a community like Whistler, and eastern provinces begin to look like a more attractive option.
“The issue that the Moroccans have is that they’re here on a particular status, so most of them are here on closed visas. In other words, they are linked to a particular employer,” said Carole Stretch, program manager for the Whistler Welcome Centre. “That means if the employer says goodbye, there’s not going to be employment for you, and they can’t just go out and find another job. They have to find an employer somewhere who is prepared to either do a [Labour Market Impact Assessment], or sponsor them on a visa, and that is hard.”
Despite the barriers, Joel Chevalier of Culinary Recruitment International, which has been instrumental in the recent influx of Moroccan chefs Whistler has seen, said some local employers are so short-staffed as visitors begin to return to town that they are more than willing to deal with the added costs and bureaucracy that comes with sponsoring an employee.
“I don’t suppose you know of any workers that are looking to be a cook here in Whistler that we could go through this process with and get them here within 10 days?” asked one of Chevalier’s clients in an email this week that was shared with Pique.
Add in the anticipated decline in both seasonal staff and working holiday visa holders that have historically been the backbone of Whistler’s frontline workforce, and the labour market “will look very different” this winter, Chevalier said.
“There’s no silver bullet to it. It’s a complicated formula and now is a good time to figure it out.”
Both Stretch and Chevalier were hopeful employers will look within the community to source staff.
“I hope that employers figure out how to take advantage of locals and local youth looking for work,” Chevalier noted. “If there was ever a good time to re-figure out local and domestic hiring, for groups like First Nations, for youth, for mature workers looking to get back into the workforce, now is the perfect time.”
Stretch said immigrants already in Whistler could be an option and encouraged employers to rethink how they have historically approached recruitment.
“I think what they need to do is think seriously about who they recruit, how much they’re prepared to train, look at potential rather than experience, and really look at managing a more diverse workforce,” she said.
Even pre-COVID, Stretch was adamant that local businesses would have to consider their workplace culture as Whistler has increasingly brought in more immigrant workers, like the Moroccan chefs, who often have different needs than the resort’s historical seasonal workforce, which typically come here with an emphasis on lifestyle over career.
“I think it requires talking to people and trying to understand their expectations … What does the employer expect? What does the employee expect? What would they like to have?” she said. “Maybe you have to look at jobs in a different way. Maybe you need to say, ‘I have this person I value and I’d like to bring on.’ How can we organize the workplace to support that person? Potentially, this is a long-term change.
“Take the opportunity. We have been talking about it for years. As a community, we can really start using who we’ve got here and making the most of it.”
