As a descendent of immigrants, I have no problem with immigration, although I believe Canadians are much better served by our government permitting those who have the education, skills and ability to converse competently in the language of the land to have first access. That said, I'm sorry but I fail to see the validity of Mr. Chiasson's argument that St. Albert needs large numbers of unskilled temporary foreign workers.
Does St. Albert, with its population of 66,000, need four McDonald’s restaurants, three of which are open 24 hours a day? I highly doubt it. I would love to know just how much business those 24-hour franchises actually see between midnight and 5 a.m. on a weekday. I don't believe that closing them between those hours Sunday through Thursday with longer weekend hours would result in the kind of loss he suggests. He also mentions that customer service will suffer. I don't know how much worse it can get.
Over the last four or more years, unless I'm actually collecting my order at the window on a tray and eating in the lobby (as McDonald’s calls their counters and dining rooms – former McDonald’s crew member here), I haven't had a single order correct. Even when the food is ordered and picked up inside for take-out it's wrong more often than it's right. Items are missing or not what was ordered and it's usually cold. I don't consider that to be superlative customer service.
Service at Tim Hortons and Subway is no better; they also employ a large number of temporary foreign workers whose main focus is through-put and not accuracy. However I do note that Walmart, not well-known for its generosity to its employees, has not needed to resort to hiring "temporary" foreign workers to keep its doors open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Nor have Costco, Home Depot, Safeway or Superstore. What's their secret?
Jan Fortier, St. Albert
