مهاجران

Palliser Lumber: The Spirit of Giving Back

Half a world apart, Crossfield, Alberta, and the town of Laur in the Philippines might seem to have little in common. The two communities, however, are linked through economic cooperation, strong family ties and the spirit of giving back.

Jun and Alex, both from the community north of Manila, are just two of the beneficiaries of the relationship. Along with 55 other Filipino temporary foreign workers, the brothers work for Palliser Lumber Sales and now make their home in Crossfield, a small Alberta community just outside of Calgary.

After working for an electric company in the Philippines for 12 years and earning only $200 a month, Alex is happy to be in Canada. He has been at Palliser for just over a year and a half, and already he has received training and moved up in the company, now acting as liaison between Palliser and the Philippines.

“We love working with them,” says Alex of their experience at Palliser.

Howie, the company’s president and chief executive officer, says the benefits have been mutual.

“They’re fully integrated into the business, performing numerous important tasks, such as packaging, forklift operation and lumber grading,” says Howie. “These are jobs that, increasingly, workers in Alberta aren’t interested in, so it’s win-win. The Filipino workers are happy to be here and we’re happy to have them as part of our team.”

But there’s more to the story than just great job opportunities for a few Filipino workers.

In Laur, a community that many of the Filipino workers call home, Palliser is having an impact. It has set up hot meal programs for up to 70 children every day, donated money to local schools for books and supplies and planted 200 trees on a neglected hillside, turning it into a picnic area. And it’s working on new initiatives all the time.

The programs directly link to the families of the Filipino workers. Before coming to Canada, Jun worked on the Palliser initiatives. Now, Alex’s wife Daisy and Jun’s wife Rose, along with some other wives of Filipino workers living in Canada, work as volunteers in the meal program in Laur.

Palliser’s relationship with the Filipino community began in 1995 when they hired their first Filipino recruit, Ferdi. A decade later, Ferdi, by then a Canadian citizen, helped Palliser hire other Filipino workers. The company, in turn, responded by giving the workers more than just jobs.

“I know that, for myself, I have been away from there for a long time, but I still want my village to succeed,” says Ferdi of the programs.

In November, Alex will return to his home town when his two-year temporary work permit runs out. He is, however, more than willing to come back to Palliser.

“If they want to rehire us, we are willing to come back here.”

If that happens, Alex wants to bring his wife and two children with him the next time.

“There’s lots of opportunities here in Canada,” he says, “especially for my kids.”