The Winner of The French Debate–Mme Muguette Paille of La Mauricie

While the punditry, pollsters, bloggers, media types and spin doctors all sort out as to who won and who lost last night’s French language debate, many from Twitter and Facebook have declared another winner.  Not a political leader; not even in politics.  The unsung heroine of last night appears to be none other than 53 year old, Muguette Paille (or Mme Paille as she is now dubbed) from Ste-Angele-de-Premont, a rural town in the region of La Mauricie.  Mme Paille was one of six people  selected to ask the leaders a question. Her question:

Translated to English:

“The employment rate is very high in the region. Steady jobs are scarce. It is hard for someone like me — I’m 53 — to find work. So I would like to know how you intend to create jobs in Quebec, particularly in my region, and how it will help people over the age of 50 find permanent jobs.”

Mme Paille became an instant Twitter star, as her name was trending big time.  A facebook fan page  created in her honour was created and  reached over a 1000 members in just over an hour of  its’ creation. Other facebook pages in her honour have been created as well.  A particular favourite of mine is Mme Paille for Minister of Labour or something along those lines.  She has also been sought after for radio and TV interviews.   I don’t think she  expected to become famous overnight or even within the hour of her asking her question was televised, to say the least. Many are now touting her as Canada’s own “Joe the Plumber”.   Canada probably needs one — not the fictitious one that exists in Sa-wah Palin’s mind, but a real one representing the working class and the unemployed alike on the side of sanity.

I guess the question on many people’s minds are how did Mme Paille of all people achieve such instant stardom?  After all, between the English language debates on Tuesday night and last night’s French language debate,  there were twelve videos of ordinary Canadians asking the leaders questions, selected. All asked good pertinent questions of our leaders. How did she gain fame out of the lot of them?  Because like “Joe the plumber”,  she represents working class, middle Canada (or Quebec)?  That could be a large part of it. While others may speculate, I have my own theory that should be explored.

For openers,  much of the debate amongst the chattering classes has been focussing on young people.  Job training and education for young people being offered by  the Liberals and the NDP.  Attention paid to students and their groups promoting getting the vote out. Folks wondering and fretting about youth apathy.  Even last night on Twitter, many expressed disappointment that the few who were selected to question the leaders in the French language debate were all older.  All well and good.  However, with the exception of the Liberals’ touting their home care plan and  pension reforms, along with the NDP, how much focus is there on older voters? And I’m not talking just about retired and sick seniors neither.

The median age in Canada is 42, which proves a rapidly aging population. Middle-age Canadians appear to be an often forgotten demographic in this campaign.  Hell, they often appear to be forgotten, period. I’m not saying we should foresake young people and seniors.  I’m saying that middle-aged people need to be heard as much and their issues need to be addressed not only our elected officials but by the public at large. One major issue is employment for these people. More specifically, employers’ attitudes toward hiring them.

With austerity plans in vogue in government budgets in Europe and the rest of the industrialized world, including hikes of  retirement age to late sixties, including Canada (CPP only at 65 now; age could go up), a serious problem is overlooked.  Ageism in the work force is alive and well in Canada. Yes,  like in many of  Quebec’s rural regions, La Mauricie has a high unemployment rate, but imagine how much harder it must be for someone like Mme Paille to compete with someone half her age for that same scarce job in the area? Sure Jack Layton can talk about job retraining for older workers, but what good is that training when the employers themselves won’t hire you because of your age?  I just love the euphamism, “You’re overqualified”.  A word of warning, that’s code for  you’re over the hill.

I can attest that many employers find that forty is ready for the nursing home in their worlds.  Over two and half years ago,  when I was unemployed for about five months, I was introduced to La Passerelle, an Emploi Quebec sponsored bilingual organization that helps people over 40 to get back on the work force and/or look for work.

It is there I had met a lot of Muguette Pailles and yes, those who thought they had retired for good, but because of the recession, found themselves having to go back to work.   Some even had high paying careers at one point who ended up learning the hard way that even getting a far lower level job with far less pay was problematic.

I remembered one gentleman in his late fifties from our group. I remembered his qualifications as I translated his CV to French for him. He held a degree in mathematics, worked as an executive in a variety of positions throughout his adult life only to find himself working as an administrative assistant in a small engineering firm. He is probably one of the lucky ones.

Yes, that is Montreal where we do have such programs to help. However,  what about the rest of Canada? Are there such organizations or programs to help 40+, 50+, 60+ unemployed Canadians?  In rural Canada, I imagine such resources are much fewer and far between.

Another friend of mine out west who asked to remain anonymous wished to share his story with  me:  Here goes:

I am 61 years old. I have been unemployed for most of the past two years. When I moved to Vancouver in 2006, it was at the invitation of a software company to fill a position for which I had over 20 years experience. I was 56 and knew opportunities like this would not come very often. I jumped at the chance. One and half years later, the company was purchased by a bigger one, shedding half its workforce, especially those like me in non-profitable sectors.

I wasn’t afraid. Although I was 57, I had never had a problem getting a job.

As the years passed, I grew concerned. I was going to interviews with not only the same but improved resume, the same glowing references and the same interviewing techniques. But I wasn’t successful anymore. At first, I thought it was just that I was in Canada, outside my work zone and work friends in Southern California, where I had worked non-stop for 15 years in the same profession.

With each interview I go to now, despite my 25 years expertise, it’s the same thing. An hour of enthusiastic repartee with the interviewers following glowing praise from recruiters, but no job. The interviews seem to go as they always have, the answers to job situation questions concise and erudite, the communication easy but business-like. However, the results are so much different now than they were 20, 10 or even five years ago.

As the years have gone by, I have heard from more and more people my age about the problems they were facing. It was pretty much the same story. A solid career until mid-fifties, a layoff or natural attrition at a work place, and then no
prospects.

I was for a time encouraged by the Action Plan for older Canadians but was  stopped early in my research, being told it could not help me because I needed to have been on EI within the last year to qualify.

As for government help, I’ve given up. As for jobs, I had almost given up. I have just been hired for a three-month stint for some ground work for a small hourly wage. I found this job on my own on a job site.

I am thrilled. And grateful. But I should expect more. I am as capable as anyone younger in my profession, perhaps even more suited to my chosen profession now that I am seasoned, fully up-to-date with the latest tools of my trade and have supervisory experience.

There should be options for me to participate in government-offered programs that encourage and use my particular skill set beyond a three-month contract (I was advised in strong terms there is no future possibility of employment after the term of the contract).

 I have given up seeking tools from the government for enriching my job search and obtaining training for new fields. I have a sneaking suspicion there are things available out there, but where are they and why are they so hard to find? Monster, Craigslist, recruiters can only do so much.

I’ve lived my life as a world traveller, working steadily in the same profession throughout Canada, overseas and in the United States. I don’t have much in the way of a pension. I need to work well into my sixties and seventies to supplement the amount I will receive after 65.

When an electronics store I worked at for 18 months a few years ago (in another city) passed me by for a seasonal job or a job as a burger flipper is denied, I and older workers like me need help to continue working. Without that, there are many more than myself who are being abandoned as candidates for jobs when our unique skills and work ethic could be helping making this country a better place.

Those stories I’ve mentioned above are but a few people who despite being ‘lucky’ (or unlucky) to find even temporary work of some kind, it didn’t come easily.  There are so many more like Mme Paille who, despite their best efforts, qualifications or skill set,  have still not found work, not only because of the recession and/or  low job vacancy in their regions, but also because of the fact that they’re simply deemed too old.

No question people like Mme Paille remind us of why job creation is important, particularly in regions that were hard hit by the recession.  It’s well and good to set up training programs, or a job search help program like La Passerelle,  specifically for folks over a certain age, but what good are they if the attitudes of employers don’t change toward these workers? The reality is if there is going to be no pension available or if lucky, one must be much older to qualify for said pension, they must have a job in order to draw a pay checque.

Another thing older workers can offer over younger ones: experience–both vocational and personal.

Jack Layton did have a good idea providing tax breaks for small businesses who create jobs here in Canada. How about a similar program for hiring older workers?

I loved how the punditry all jumped to the praise of  Mme Paille while condemning each of the leaders. Jean Lapierre on Andrew Carter this morning really started showing some anti-Liberal or anti-Iggy colours this morning, poking fun at their family home care program with regards to Ms Paille.  Funny how sometimes the punditry gets it wrong too. Apparently, Mme Paille liked what Iggy and Layton  had to say last night:

She later said she was pleased with the response she saw from NDP leader Jack Layton and Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, but gave a thumbs-down to Conservative leader Stephen Harper, concluding that he had not addressed her concerns.

“I didn’t like him (Harper) at all,” she told Montreal daily, le Journal de Montréal, after the debate. “But I liked Mr. Layton and Mr. Ignatieff who answered well.”

She also noted that Ignatieff was able to identify with her situation when he spoke about offering support to help her take care of her parents.

“Mr Ignatieff was very realistic in his answer,” Paillé told the Montreal newspaper. “He spoke about my own reality. When he spoke about my parents, I was wondering whether he had looked into my background. My parents are healthy. They are 84 and 86 years old. It’s true that I worry about them.”

Take that M Lapierre!

Who knows? Maybe this newfound fame will yield  decent employment opportunity for Mme Paille?

Perhaps now that there is an actual person representing a large demographic in Canada, there could be hope for them in finding work?

According Mme Paille, some Twitter users have offered her work, but she does not know if any will pan out.  Perhaps she can market her strawberry poutine recipe that is published on the Metro supermarket web site?

Mme Paille,  je vous souhaite les meilleures chance dans vos recherches d’emplois, ainsi qu’avec vos autres projets!