"Enriching - Motivating - Comfortable - Absolutely 100 per cent
successful!" are the words used by the employees and management of
Maple Leaf Foods to describe their experience with labour
migration.

"We have nothing but good stories to tell," says Dan Lenton,
Production Manager of the Maple Leaf Foods plant in Brandon,
Manitoba.

Javier Andres Avellaneda, who recently arrived from Colombia,
chooses the word comfortable to describe his experience so far.
"When you try something on and it fits and feels good, you say it
is comfortable.  Well that is how I feel since I arrived in
Brandon.  Everyone has made us feel welcome.  We are
respected by our supervisors."

A labour shortage in Canada prompted Maple Leaf Foods to venture
into foreign recruitment in 2002.

Lenton explains :  "Parts of Canada are booming.  For
example, in Alberta there is a lot of work and higher pay, so many
Canadians are moving to that province.  And Manitoba, which is
mainly agricultural and not densely populated, is facing a shortage
of workers."

This particular Maple Leaf plant, the largest employer in
Brandon with 1,650 employees and with plans to increase its
workforce to 2,200, recently welcomed 149 migrant workers from
Colombia.

Susan Boeve, Head of International Recruitment for Maple Leaf
plants in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan confirms they
currently employ more than 1,100 migrant workers from China,
Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, and
Ukraine.

IOM and Maple Leaf have signed bilateral agreements with
Colombia and Georgia and trilateral agreements with Honduras and
Mauritius.  "Over the next years we will be working with IOM
to bring more foreign workers to Maple Leaf from these and other
countries," explains Boeve who has her bags packed and is ready for
her long journey to Mauritius to recruit the next group of Maple
Leaf employees.

Twenty-seven year old Miguel Mahecha arrived in Canada at the
end of September.  "In Bogotá I worked in the meat
processing industry but the wages were very low and the hours very
long.  I decided to migrate because of lack of
opportunities."

He shares a brand new two-bedroom apartment with three other
Colombians, so he is happy and not alone, but he misses his
family.  "I miss my girlfriend, my mother, father and
sister.  I call them often.  I brought my laptop but I
still do not have access to the Internet at my place, so I go to
the public library to send emails home."

One month is all it took for Miguel to make one of the most
important decisions of his life. "I want to stay in Canada and
become a permanent resident," he says confidently.  "The
people of Brandon have been good to us.  The Salvadorians who
have been here for a few years have been very helpful.  Also,
the church has given us furniture, clothing, kitchen utensils and
other things to begin our new lives."

Javier Andres left his wife and three year old daughter in
Colombia. He is very wise for his 25 years.  "I see a wide
door that has opened for us.  I also want to stay in Canada
and plan to bring my family as soon as I become a permanent
resident.  Why would I go back to Colombia?  Sure I love
my country, but Canada is offering stability; financial and
personal security.  I can aspire to owning a car, a house; I
have so many opportunities here," he explains excitedly.

Maple Leaf managers are proud of the 95 per cent retention rate
since they began hiring foreign workers.   " In 2002 we
were in the initial stages, now it has become second nature for me
to ring Susan and say,  ' we need employees, so 
where  are we off to next? '  We're in this for the long
term," says Lenton.

The face to face interview is the most important part of the
hiring process.  Boeve likens it to bringing a baby to the
managers.

"It's their baby, and this is why I always travel with plant
personnel to do the final interviews," adds Boeve.

The selected candidates are hired for a period of two years
under the temporary foreign worker programme.  At the end of
the two years, Maple Leaf nominates those wishing to stay in Canada
to the Provincial Nominee Programme.  Once approved, the
migrant is awarded permanent residence status and can bring their
spouse and minor children to Canada.

"Maple Leaf helps those wishing to apply for permanent residence
to gather their documents and fill in the required forms. 
This is a costly process and may require a lawyer,"  
explains Boeve.

Maple Leaf finds apartments to let in the city and pays the
first month's rent.  They also provide beds and bedding, a
welcome package, a one month bus pass and grocery coupons to help
the new foreign employees until they receive their first
paycheck.

Maple Leaf currently produces all of its employee communications
in four languages; but Boeve says soon it could be more.

"We want to select people from different nationalities to keep
the plants culturally mixed.  I recently travelled to
Honduras.  Working with IOM we selected a group of 35 persons
for our plant in Alberta.  They should be arriving soon,"

Leonardo Guerrero ,  a 27-year old from Bogotá
,  is an industrial engineer.  "In my country I was
making the equivalent of CA$ 400 per month.  And at Maple Leaf
I am making CA$ 323 per week.  Great persons are made from the
bottom up, and I know that I can move ahead.  This is what
prompted me to migrate to Canada.  In Colombia the rich get
richer and the poor get poorer.  High positions are assigned
to friends or relatives," he muses.

Miguel interjects:"In Colombia the door is not wide open for
everyone to enter.  We are opening doors in Canada for other
Colombians."

Maple Leaf Foods is a Canadian-based food processing company
with more than 22,500 employees across Canada, the United States,
the United Kingdom and Asia, and operates more than 100
facilities.