THE MAJOR attractions of Saint-Gédéon-de-Beauce, an hour-and-a-half drive from Quebec City, could be toured in minutes. There’s the spired church, built in 1911, and, next to it, the town hall, converted from a convent. A stone’s throw away is the heart of the village: Groupe Canam, the largest builder of steel components in North America. Nearly all 2,200 residents of Saint-Gédéon have connections with Canam, and some likely still remember the moment the plant’s foundations were poured in 1960. The owner of Rôtisserie Mom’s, a restaurant located on Canam Boulevard, worked there, as did the husband of Margot Lachance, who runs Saint-Gédéon’s only bed and breakfast. Affixed to the community arena’s facade is the name of Canam president Marcel Dutil; many of his roughly 800 local workers live in town.
Saint-Gédéon, despite its charms, is in decline. Young people are moving to urban centres to pursue their studies, new construction is practically nonexistent, and the only grocery store shuttered two years ago. But, as Saint-Gédéon shrinks, Canam is growing. Thanks to a booming Quebec economy, the company is in desperate need of welders. The labour shortage is also dire for other manufacturers in the surrounding region, a warren of thirty municipalities known as the Beauce. With the area unable to provide workers, companies have launched recruitment missions all over South America and Europe, offering stable incomes, paid vacations, and even free lodging to prospective hires. That’s how Canam, partnering with local professional schools, managed to convince about 100 Colombians to move to town.
この記事は The Walrus の December 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Walrus の December 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Invisible Lives
Without immigration status, Canada's undocumented youth stay in the shadows
My Guilty Pleasure
"The late nights are mine alone, and I'll spend them however I damn well please"
Vaclav Smil Is Fed Up
The acclaimed environmental scientist is criticizing climate activists, shunning media, and stepping back just when we need him most
It's Time for a Birth Control Revolution
What the pill teaches us about the failure - and future - of women's health care
Would You Watch a Play about Hydro Electricity?
How documentary theatre struck a chord in Quebec
Still Spinning
One record chain has bet big on a new appetite for physical media
Just So You Know, I Love My Mother
In many ways, multi-generational living makes sense. But that doesn't make it easy
Art of the Steal
Why are plundered African artifacts still in Western museums?
Canada in the Middle
What role can we play in easing the war in Gaza?
Canadian Multiculturalism: A Work in Progress
As we mark fifty years since the adoption of Canada’s federal multiculturalism policy, human rights advocate AMIRA ELGHAWABY celebrates its merits and reflects on the work that is yet to be done when it comes to inclusion, acceptance, and fighting systemic racism in our country.