Publisher's Note

Publisher’s Note
by CK May is the month of flowers not just in the Philippines but also here in Calgary. A lot of my neighbors have done their spring cleaning and unfortunately I cannot cope up with them. I remember that during this time of the year my husband, Hank gets busier day by day. He takes care [...]
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A Year In Review and A Year To Look Forward To

(A short essay from a TFW’s point of view)

by: Leo Estorco

As a foreign worker in Banff, Alberta, the year 2010 has been so exceptional. While the nation is just recovering from huge loss of businesses due to the most recent recession of 2008, 2009 seemed the worst ever in our Food Services industry, Why? its because some foreign workers that year were sent home by their Company for it can’t give them decent work hours. Other institutions cut labor so drastic that foreign workers just need to move to a different employer or get another job (illegally/under the table) just to survive. Individuals who came here in Alberta under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program have different aspirations in life and it is really important for these people to earn in order to have decent money to send back to their home country. They have the stigma that when they leave to work in a foreign land, it is because they need to help the family out financially, or the purpose of their absence from their absence is of no significance.

There were several occasions that employers fought back to gain the prosperity of their businesses so that when the year 2010 came about, some were in the road of recovery already. Thus, they were able to retain some of their foreign workers. Although the year made a good start it is still up in the air whether the continuity of such will remain. I believe though that this year 2011 will just be the continuation of such fantastic beginning. I’m looking forward that businesses will have a blast again and people will start spending more. This means Banff is back to its original circulation (not only Banff but the whole of Canada) and will start to fill more manpower to suffice the demand.

My personal expectation for this coming year is to get my immigrant status (similar to what most are aspiring to achieve) and to have the best years of my life still to come. I’m really glad that my Company Tony Roma’s is so kind and good to me. From the big bosses (Head Office) to the people I’m working with at my location. They are very supportive of my future career plans. They are behind me in every way. I work in a Restaurant whose guests are tourists from various places such as Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Japan, England, France, Germany, Ireland, China, and as far as South Africa and Somalia to name a few. I have learned to adapt well and my people skills was intensely developed. I am glad to be one of those lucky beings to have such great personal and working experience here in Canada.

Others might have different concerns for this coming year especially when it comes to matters of their job stability and security, responsibilities and rights, finances and most especially in their personal endeavour to obtain more permanency in their status. Most of the unskilled workers are still optimistic this year that there will be some more changes to this type of program that CIC will release, for them to get a chance to become permanent residents too. As not everybody will have the luck, nor the opportunity to become such. One person that I talked to just recently said “Alberta’s plan about getting temporary foreign workers is almost done because they already got all the necessary help to fill in the gap”. I just hope that there would be more hope in the future for those who have reached this far.

Let us all be positive that 2011 will be the best year for temporary foreign workers and may our wishes be granted by our Good Lord. For nothing, I believe, is impossible through the power of prayer. if you think positive, you will see that there isn’t only one road to reach your goal to success…some of them are just hiding, and its for you to find out.

Happy New Year Canada!

A Year In Review and A Year To Look Forward To

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