Foreign Workers Forced Out of Fort McMurray by Fire Worry They Could Be Deported

Jeff Matias celebrated his 27th birthday in a car, along a flaming highway, as he fled Fort McMurray, Alberta last week amid a mandatory evacuation order. He and a friend got stuck on the side of the road during a crowded and frantic 13-hour trip to Edmonton.

Everything Matias had built in the Canadian oil sands capital over the last two years was going up in smoke, and his biggest fear was that he might never be allowed back.

He first arrived in Fort Mac in 2013 from the Philippines to work in the kitchen at Earl's restaurant under the Canadian temporary foreign worker program (TFWP). The program, which has been criticized for fostering exploitation of migrant workers, allows companies to bring employees from abroad to fill gaps in various industries — from agriculture to hospitality — or when they can't find permanent residents or citizens to hire.

The jobs of many people from Fort McMurray hang in the balance as 1,500 firefighters battle the so-called "beast" wildfires spanning more than 160,000 hectares, with no end in sight. But for Matias, and other temporary foreign workers, things are even more complicated because he is contractually tied to only one employer, as per the program's rules, and he's forbidden from working for anyone else.

If Earl's doesn't reopen soon, or by the time his contract comes up in July, he says he risks losing legal immigration status and being forced back home. His livelihood and dream of one day applying for Canadian citizens would be crushed.

"My family is in the Philippines and I am the breadwinner, the one who is working. And I have two siblings, twins in the third grade," Matias said, weeping and wiping away tears with the sleeve of his hoodie outside of the evacuation centre at the Northlands exhibition grounds, in Edmonton. "I'm very worried for myself, for any other foreign workers."

He has told his family not to tell his 86-year-old grandmother that his town has been evacuated. "I support her right now, too, and she's getting old and I don't want her to panic."

Inside Fort McMurray's restricted wildfire zone with a volunteer delivering food to emergency crews.— VICE Canada (@vicecanada)May 9, 2016

There are around 60,000 temporary foreign workers in Alberta, although it's unclear how many are working for companies based in Fort McMurray. But the city is known for attracting thousands of workers from abroad for roles in the oil and gas sector, but also for work in fast-food restaurants and as live-in nannies. One sociologist at the University of Alberta told the Toronto Star last year there are anywhere from 600 to 1,000 live-in caregivers in the city, most of whom live with employers who work in the oil sands.

A spokesperson for the Coalition for Migrant Workers Rights Alberta chapter told the Canadian Press that dozens are expected to reach out for help in the coming days. The group has called on the federal department for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) to be more flexible with it comes to the migrant workers displaced by the fires.

An IRCC spokesperson would not say whether exceptions will be made for concerned temporary foreign workers, but told VICE News in an email that the department is "monitoring the tragic situation in Fort McMurray and assessing whether and when special measures will be necessary to address the needs of Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and temporary residents in the region."

For now, Matias will stay with a friend in Edmonton until he hears news from the government. The province's premier is expected to assess the damage during a tour of the city on Monday, the first time since the evacuation, and discuss a plan for re-entry.

"I have no idea what's going to happen, or if my home is even still there," said Matias as his friend arrived to pick him up. "But if I'm sent home, it would be starting over completely."

Follow Rachel Browne on Twitter: @rp_browne