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Fast-food worker from Kuwait lives in fear of losing her job

A Kuwaiti woman is one of the 26 temporary foreign workers in Victoria who have been caught in a controversy over fair hiring practices.
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A 36-year-old woman from Kuwait sends money to her family. She is in Canada legally, but worries about being sent home.

A Kuwaiti woman is one of the 26 temporary foreign workers in Victoria who have been caught in a controversy over fair hiring practices.

A franchise owner for three McDonald’s Restaurants in Victoria is being investigated by the federal government for alleged misuses of the temporary foreign worker program. At issue is whether Canadians were displaced from work.

The 36-year-old woman, mother of 12- and 16-year-old children, came to Canada three years ago hoping to get a job to give her family a better life with greater opportunities. (She doesn’t want her real name used in fear of retribution, so we are calling her Mary.) “I’m the breadwinner for the family because my mom and dad don’t have any work right now,” Mary said.

Canada is safer than the Middle East and more progressive on women’s rights, she said outside the Bayanihan Community Centre Sunday afternoon, where a forum was held on the foreign-worker issue.

Her job in a Victoria fast-food restaurant “is very important to me,” said Mary. “It feeds my family and our future depends on this job.”

The criticism over whether Mary and other foreign employees should be working in Canada has her feeling sad and upset.

The threat of being sent back to Kuwait has Mary fearing for her family’s future.

Many of Victoria’s foreign workers have been told by their employers not to talk to anybody, said Annette Beech, vice-president of the Victoria Filipino Canadian Caregivers Association. “They are so scared, like they’re criminals — they want to look around before they say anything to me.”

The foreign workers are in Canada legally and shouldn’t feel their work isn’t valued, said Beech.

She’s advocating on behalf of the workers with government agencies.

The workers are getting typical Canadian wages, but some are being charged by their employer for board and lodging.

“They’re slaves, you know what I mean?” Beech said.

The average age of the workers is mid to late 20s. They were accepted in the foreign-worker program after a long process requiring interviews and finding Canadian agents.

Mable Elmore, MLA for Vancouver Kensington, appeared at the forum to support the foreign workers. “The message to the Canadian government ... Canada was founded on immigration and people coming here to work are good enough to stay.”

Those coming to Canada to work should be able to apply for permanent residency, she said.

smcculloch@timescolonist.com