granville island, employment and the opportunities that never came

A personal story about work, ageism, hiring practices and the question of local opportunity.

Disclaimer: This post reflects my personal experiences, recollections and opinions. I am not making allegations against individual workers or suggesting that every employer operates in the same way. My questions about hiring practices, ageism and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program are questions I believe deserve public discussion and appropriate scrutiny.

Recently, Granville Island invited the public to provide input. I offered a simple suggestion: perhaps they should consider giving people born and raised here, and those with established roots in the community, a fair opportunity for employment.

Someone responded that employers should simply hire the best person for the job.

Of course they should. But I think there is another question worth asking: are local people actually getting a fair opportunity to compete?

This isn't an abstract discussion for me. I have some personal history with Granville Island.

my first job on granville island

I worked as a store clerk in a soap shop. When I asked for a raise, my employer gave me a disciplinary letter. I felt I had no choice but to quit.

That decision had consequences. Because I quit, I wasn't eligible for Employment Insurance.

I lost my job, my income and the financial support I might have needed while looking for another opportunity.

my second job

Later, I was hired as a summer relief janitor. I worked for three months but wasn't hired back.

Many of the people working there were temporary foreign workers, which made me question the hiring practices and whether local applicants were being given a fair opportunity.

I also hadn't accumulated enough insurable hours during those three months to qualify for EI.

Two employment experiences, and neither left me with an employment safety net.

trying to get back into the workforce

I began questioning whether ageism and the use of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program were contributing to the difficulties I was experiencing.

I took a 55+ employment course because I wanted to understand the barriers older workers face and find a way forward.

I sent out thousands of resumes over time.

I also personally walked around Granville Island and handed resumes into approximately ten businesses.

I heard virtually nothing back.

The one exception was a chocolate shop, which sent me a rejection letter practically the next day.

Imagine continuing to put yourself out there, applying, approaching employers in person and hoping someone will give you a chance, only to receive silence or rejection.

Eventually, I gave up looking for conventional employment.

piecing together a living

I started cat sitting and dog walking, took on whatever small jobs I could find, and cleaned my sister's house once a week in exchange for grocery money.

I pieced together an income wherever I could.

It wasn't the employment security I had hoped for. It wasn't what I had planned for my working years.

But I adapted because I had to.

who is accountable?

There is another part of this conversation that deserves attention.

Granville Island is federally owned and managed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), a federal Crown corporation.

So my questions aren't directed only at individual businesses.

They are also directed at Granville Island management, CMHC and the federal government.

What responsibility does the organization managing this public marketplace have to ensure local workers, including older workers, have a fair opportunity?

What oversight exists around hiring practices and the use of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program?

Are employers genuinely unable to find qualified local workers, or are there circumstances in which local applicants are being overlooked?

And who is listening to the people who have actually experienced these barriers?

I am not blaming temporary foreign workers. They are people trying to make a living, too. My questions are about the policies, employers and systems that determine who gets access to employment.

looking back

I'm now approaching retirement and preparing for a new chapter in Mexico.

I should probably feel nothing but relief that I found another way forward. But when I look back, I feel sadness and anger about the opportunities that never came.

I was willing to work. I applied, took courses, approached employers and kept trying.

I wasn't asking for special treatment. I wanted a fair chance.

When Granville Island asks for community input, I hope it is prepared to hear from people who have lived these experiences.

Because behind every unanswered resume is a person.

And sometimes, the people who disappear from the workforce aren't the people who didn't want to work.

They're the people who kept knocking on doors until they finally stopped.

Reflective Questions

Should publicly owned and managed spaces have additional accountability around employment practices?

What happens to people who send out hundreds or thousands of resumes without receiving meaningful responses?

How does losing access to employment benefits affect people who are already struggling financially?

How can we create an employment system where nobody feels they have aged out, been overlooked or become disposable?

Granville Island, CMHC, local employment, ageism, older workers, temporary foreign workers, employment opportunities, fair hiring, workplace accountability, Vancouver employment.

#GranvilleIsland

#CMHC

#FairEmployment

#LocalEmployment

#AgeismInTheWorkplace

#OlderWorkers

#TemporaryForeignWorkerProgram

#EmploymentEquity

#VancouverCommunity

#WorkersDeserveBetter