Wildfire in Jasper sends hundreds of foreign workers scrambling to secure jobs and housing

EDMONTON — It didn’t take long for Namneet Singh to find a full-time job again after a fire in Jasper, Alta., last week destroyed the hotel where he had worked for more than a year.

Singh, one of hundreds of temporary foreign workers making a living in the picturesque town in the Rocky Mountains, was at work when the community was ordered to evacuate on the night of July 22.

All 25,000 people in Jasper National Park, including 5,000 town residents, were given five hours to flee as flames began to close roads and escape routes. Two days later, fire destroyed a third of the town’s buildings, leaving Singh and others in limbo.

Singh, who grew up in India, now lives in Edmonton and works at the Jasper Employment and Education Centre to help other displaced foreign workers obtain new passports and other documents so they can get unemployment insurance or find new jobs.

He increases their chances of employment by helping them apply for open work permits instead of employer-specific permits.

It also leaves Singh feeling distracted, as he has had trouble sleeping since the fire.

“When I try to sleep at night, I have nightmares,” Singh said in an interview.

“Even though I don’t have my documents, I want other people to get their documents as soon as possible so that they have hope that they can get a new work permit so that they can start working and get back to their normal life.”

The employment office is located in a temporary office in All Saints’ Anglican Cathedral in downtown Edmonton.

The center’s director, Heidi Veluw, who employed Singh part-time before the fire, said it is likely her organization will continue to operate out of the church for some time.

Veluw said the center sees 90 people a day, many of whom have previously used the organization’s services in Jasper.

“Their workplaces, or both their home and their workplace, have been burned down,” she said.

Veluw said Jasper is home to approximately 1,500 temporary foreign workers who work in retail, hospitality, catering and many other sectors.

Workers with permits that allow them to perform only specific jobs are at greatest risk, she said, especially if their employer’s business has been burned down.

She said the goal is to get them an open work permit, but applying for the documents is complicated and time-consuming.

“As with any government form, some questions are confusing to everyone,” she said.

Immigration Canada is trying to make it easier. It has temporarily waived the fees for foreign workers to apply to have their personal documents replaced and their work permits amended.

The City of Edmonton has set up an evacuation centre for people in Jasper who have nowhere to stay. There are also shelters in Calgary and Grande Prairie.

Jasper officials have yet to provide a timeline for when evacuees can return. Singh said his return is uncertain.

“I don’t even have a house there now,” he said.

“It will only be ashes.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 1, 2024.

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press