MLA Richard Perchotte visits Canadian Tire and the Selkirk Record
Last week Inclusion Selkirk and Connections to Employment welcomed local MLA Richard Perchotte to the workplaces of three of the individuals who have worked with their programs to find employment in Selkirk. The three individuals are Kaitlyn Foy who does reception work at the Selkirk Record and Dane Goodall-George and Devon Kuram who are trainees at Canadian Tire.
Cheryle Bacon, Director of Community Development at Inclusion Selkirk and Connections to Employment explained that this Bring Your MLA to Work Day event has taken place for several years in our community and we’ve had strong support from both current and past MLAs.
“It’s about bringing to (our politicians information) about the disability community and the value of inclusion, and, of course, inclusive employment,” said Bacon.
She explained that our politicians, like Perchotte, know about our local programming but it’s about showing them the impact of what these programs really do.
“We really want to showcase the value and benefit of businesses doing this well, and how important it is and how valuable so many people in Manitoba living with disabilities who do not have this and they have a lot of value and a lot to contribute,” said Bacon.
Bacon explained that they have helped people in various industries pursue their goals and find employment and that that’s important because it can allow them to reach bigger goals but also it can benefit their lives by developing other skills as well.
The first stop of the day featured an employee who fits well into her role. Foy who does reception work at the Selkirk Record office, alongside her supervisor Office Manager Lucy Kowalchuk, talked to Perchotte about her situation and how life has improved since finding employment.
Foy has been in her role since March of 2023.
“After I got out of high school, I really wanted to get into computer science and programming. I wanted to work as a programmer. But after going to college for a year and kind of looking into the work and how the environment is and the people, I realized that it wasn’t really for me,” explained Foy.
She explained that when that initial goal fell through she didn’t quite know what to do next.
“Slowly I got a job working in Winnipeg at a call center, and it was a really scary job for me because, I’m not really good socially, but I somehow pulled it off,” said Foy.
Unfortunately, the call centre was contracted to a company involved in the travel industry and when the pandemic happened her job there ended. It was also not a great fit for Foy to begin with.
“I wasn’t sure where to go anymore at all, because I was so afraid of having a really bad experience with work again and I was really scared to look for another job,” said Foy.
Luckily, she became involved with Connections to Employment and found her place at the Record.
Now she spends her days answering the phones and helping by passing along information about stories and advertisements. She also does some accounts work and helps with classified advertisement information.
Foy explained that having employment has helped her to reach her goals. Having the finances to afford driving lessons allowed her to eventually get her driver’s license and she can now pursue her hobbies.
She also told a comical story about how, being a shy and quiet person, Co-owner of the Record Brett Mitchell encouraged her to learn to project her voice by having her shout across the parking lot to him.
Mitchell explained that the Selkirk Record has worked with Inclusion Selkirk from the very beginning working with people in their employment program to do local paper delivery.
With that connection established, having Foy join the team made sense.
The next stop of the day was to Canadian Tire where Goodall-George and Kuram spoke about their stories.
Goodall-George started the conversation off by explaining that he has worked at Canadian Tire for about a month now.
I work in the “hardware and tools (section) and the paint desk and I go into the warehouse and get what I need,” he said.
In addition, his responsibilities include doing stocking work to make sure that the correct number of items are on the shelves and being responsible for helping customers retrieve items from areas that are locked.
Goodall-George explained that one day he would like to become a Red Seal Mechanic. And so, knowing that his end goal is to get into a position like this, the staff at Canadian Tire have put him in this initial position with the idea that once he’s comfortable with this area, he could move into the parts department and then possibly move forward from there towards the auto department.
“What we really want to highlight about Canadian Tire and this location and the staff and management that they have is that they look at the big picture and the end goal,” said Bacon.
After chatting with Goodall-George, Perchotte was then introduced to Kuram who has been working at Canadian Tire for about eight months.
Kuram works in what they call the logistics department which means that he’s working throughout the store. In his role, once the trucks of products come to the store, he scans what has been received and puts the product out into the entire store.
Kuram demonstrated how he has learned to use a piece of equipment to bring products up to higher shelves and bring them back down when they are needed.
Kuram has also seen progress in his life since finding employment. He’s gotten his driver’s license and with that is able to have greater freedom.
Jennifer Oram, Selkirk’s Canadian Tire Store Manager, explained that working with Inclusion Selkirk and Connections to Employment has not just benefitted the employees but is also a benefit to the business because they get to hire employees who want to be there.
“They come in and they’re on time. They care about their job. They care about their people. Once you break through their shell, they are reliable, they are trustworthy, and they don’t push things under the rug. They care passionately about their job,” she said.
Oram says that they plan to continue to employ workers from Inclusion Selkirk and Connections to Employment and recommends that other businesses look into the opportunity.
Perchotte says that the day was quite eye-opening.
“I knew the important work that Inclusion did, but I didn’t know the extent and their involvement in not just helping people with disabilities find employment, but making sure that they have driver’s licenses and training. It shows a higher level of commitment on their part to make sure that full inclusion happens. And seeing all three employees in the different organizations today, you can see they found a home where they can be not just nurtured, but they can grow. Absolutely from Kaitlyn over at the Record, she did a wonderful job explaining her background and the challenges that she had, but also talking to the two gentlemen here. There are definitely challenges that they face, but they have the support group there from Inclusion, not just to get them in the door, but through the follow-up and making sure that everything’s going right,” he said.
Perchotte says that this says not just good things about the businesses that he visited last week but also the many businesses in our community that are part of these programs.
“Everybody deserves to be treated with respect and have opportunities. And the fact that Selkirk, everywhere I turn, I keep seeing these unsung heroes that go above and beyond. It’s an incredible community that we have. The more that we make people aware that we have people that need these opportunities, the better community we become,” said Perchotte.
Bacon encourages local businesses that might be interested in this program or would like to know more about hiring people in need of accommodations to reach out.
“Just reach out to the services in the community and supports to ask questions, if you’re not sure about accommodations or how to do this and just build more awareness,” she said.
Record Photos by Katelyn Boulanger
