Northwest bound: Filipinos head to the Abitibi to work

A loud screeching sound fills the air as Manny SuerteFelipe holdsa metaldisk to the spinning wheel of a grinderin the shop atTehcnosub.

Based in Rouyn-Noranda,roughly 630 kilometres northwest of Montreal, Technosubis anindustrial water pump manufacturerfor the mining and oil sectors.

Standing next to SuerteFelipeis MikelIleto, who's keeping busy with another piece of shiny metal.

Machinists by trade, both men are from just outside Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

They werehired through the temporary foreign worker program andarrived inRouyn-Norandaearlier in the fall withfour other menfrom the southeast Asian country.

They had never seen Canada before, or witnessed winter weather.

"Some of the other guys, they've seen snow already,"SuerteFelipe said."I went to Japan but I didn't see snow there."

The Abitibi, and its freezing November temperatures, might be newbut moving to another country to work is something the men are used to.

Bothhave spent most of their professional lives working and living abroad.

"It's difficult to get thejob in Philippines,"Iletosaid.

And the salaries are better overseas, he added.

Ileto has been to job sites in Abu Dhabi,Qatar and Korea.SuerteFelipe has worked in Singapore.

But thejobs they grabbedin Rouyn-Norandahold the promise of something greater.

"If you go in Canada and work, you have the opportunity that you can bring your family and becomeresidents,"Ileto explained.

Ileto said other countries he's worked inonly offered work visas but no chance of anything permanent.

The men hopethey'll be able to bring their wives and children to Rouyn-Noranda in the next few years.

"I think it's the future of Quebec"

ric Beaupr,Technosub's president, said that before he hiredIleto,SuerteFelipe and the others, he was missing 10 machinists.

"It's really few,the numbers of students who are going out of school beingmachinists."

Thatlack of skilled workers in the provinceis what'sputtingcompanies like his in jeopardy, Beauprsaid.

He hasn't completedhis roster yet,butBeauprsaid he'splanning to hire internationallyagain to fill all of his positions.

And if Ileto and SuerteFelipe can bring their families to Rouyn-Noranda, Beauprsees an opportunity for otherbusinesses in the region that might need help.

"They want to work, you know. We need workers," Beauprsaid.

"We have to be open to that. I think it's the future of Quebec."

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Encouraging acceptance

One of the people working to help newcomers like SuerteFelipe and Iletointegrate in Rouyn-Noranda is Marie-France Beaudry.

She's the general manager of Mosaque, an organization that helps newcomers with things likeFrench lessons and filling in paperwork.

She says part of her work is to allow locals and newcomers to interact in order to promote tolerance.

One way she and her team do thatis to have themshare a meal from another country. She said eating togetherhelps create a bond.

"There's a lot of people who are curious about the other culture," she said.

Beaudry said locals make up abouthalf of her membership, and many volunteer to help newcomerswith French conversation groups.

"People are very welcoming but we want to help that. We want to encourage that,"Beaudrysaid.

Greeted with a smile

So far, SuerteFelipe and Iletocan'tbelieve the reception they've received in Rouyn-Noranda.

Iletosaid he's never worked in a country where he'd interacted with the locals.

"But here wherever you go, when you seelocal people, you talk with them, they will greet you with a smile," Ileto said.

The next step, he said,is to learn more French in order to get rid of the communication barrier.

For now they speak, "un peu," Suerte Felipe said.

But with French lessons every week,they expectto be able to better speak with ease in the coming months.

"I feel overwhelmed. I feel happy,"SuerteFelipe said.