Dear Mr. Prime Minister,
I work as a Category Manager in the procurement department of Mowi Canada West and I also am a founding member of the Islamic Centre of Campbell River, where we bring a small community of the Muslims together to pray and form a part of the culture of this beautiful town.
I moved to Canada from India for all of the opportunities that are available in this beautiful land. I have been accepted by the community I work in as one of their own as I have accepted myself to be a part of this land. I live far away from my family and in all humility what I earn here supports multiple families back home and they all send their prayers to you. I put my 100% every single day I get to work and always strive to make my today better than yesterday.
However, I have been deeply discouraged by the decision that your Minister Bernadette Jordan has taken on Discovery Islands on the 17th of December 2020, just one week before Christmas even after the findings of the Cohen Commission. It is frightening to know that I could wake up one terrible day and receive an email saying that I am being let go.
Our industry was considered an essential service by your own government during pandemic, that kept our jobs and continued to support our families. We would like to know how we went from essential to not essential and shutting down almost 30% of our industry while the pandemic still is hanging on our heads. We have well-paying jobs from this industry, we pay taxes to the government. If I am let go, I and 1,500 other employees will be on EI adding to an unnecessary expense to the government.
In our most sincerest of our requests to you dear sir, we would like you to consider the proposal from the BC Salmon Farmers Association to take another look at this decision and find ways to smoothly transition into a better alternative than shutting us down. I hope our voices have reached you and you, being the great leader that you are, will help us in these challenging times.
Sincerely,
Mohammed Shoaib Ahmed