Fort McMurray, Alta. has seen waves of work-related migration based on the demands of the oil and gas industry, but whether those workers forge bonds with the community is another matter.
University of Alberta urban planning program assistant professor Leith Deacon led a research team that studied the effects of “fly-in, fly-out” (FIFO) workers on the community and found while it is necessary for firms to have access to a large workforce, the use of FIFO workers can have a negative impact, with employees engaging less with the community and creating a perception among permanent residents that FIFO workers are separate from the area.
Deacon said the genesis behind the study stemmed from when he moved to Alberta six years ago and was struck by the province’s reliance on the energy sector and on oil and gas extraction.
“Every Canadian has an idea in their head that Fort McMurray has a worker camp atmosphere but that isn’t true,” Deacon said.
He is one of the lead investigators for the University of Alberta’s Sustainable Community Planning Development project which examines how communities can become more resilient in the long-term by studying social, environmental, governmental and economic resiliency.
“One of our grad students, Trina Lamanes, was interested in recreation and leisure related to resiliency and went to Fort McMurray to conduct 25 interviews. As she went through the interviews, even though it wasn’t the focus, a number of participants commented on their perceptions of transient workers,” Deacon said. “It was never the primary focus, but it fits into the larger context.”
The residents interviewed were a nearly even split between men and women, and three-quarters of those interviewed had been Fort McMurray residents for more than 10 years.
The study found they considered FIFO workers to perpetuate stereotypes of isolation from the community due to low amounts of interaction. Residents were also concerned about the impact of a transient workforce on health care and other services.
Deacon stressed the poll wasn’t scientific and due to the low number of people asked, is not statistically significant.
“This is all perception-based,” he said.
He added the FIFO workers aren’t one homogenous group.
Some live in the community, buy groceries, pay rent and make use of other services, while others reside in work camps away from urban areas and therefore don’t enter the community at all. A larger group enter through the municipal airport.
“So there’s spin-off income, but that doesn’t support infrastructure,” Deacon said.
In fact, some infrastructure is used by temporary workers, he added, such as public transit that moves them to and from worksites.
But workers also sometimes lack the opportunities to interact with the community even if they want to, he said.
“This segment of the population is working long shifts, with commutes to and from sites. How likely are you to interact in the community in those circumstances? How could they even access those community resources?” he asked.
Deacon also cautioned that data was collected for the study in 2015 and 2016, and the report was published in early 2017.
“The economy was cooling, but not where it is now. So, I would imagine there might be a different perception with where things are now,” Deacon said.
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