This First Person column is the experience of Satya Patel, who lives in Mayerthorpe, Alta. For more information about CBC’s First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
My stomach turned during my training at McDonald’s as I learned how to wrap breakfast sandwiches. I had never eaten an egg and the smell of meat was overwhelming.
As a new immigrant to Canada from India, I needed a stable source of income. Never did I dream that with my multiple degrees and certificates in pharmacy and business administration, I’d be working in a restaurant. I’m a vegetarian and I hoped the nausea I was experiencing was not mirrored on my face while I worked at the west Edmonton fast-food counter.
But there’s also no way I could have known that seven years later, I would be sitting in my own pharmacy and be welcomed with homemade baked goods and gifts flooding in from my patients at Christmas time.
Satya Patel and her husband, Hetal Patel, celebrate Canada Day in 2013 at the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton. (Submitted by Satya Patel)
Out of my comfort zone
In 2012, when I received my permanent resident visa for Canada, I was plagued with doubts about moving to a new country nearly 12,000 kilometres away from home. Should I go? Do I want to start over again? Is it worth the risk? So many unknowns. Plus, we would leave behind our family, friends and culture.
What tilted my decision toward Canada was the thrill of a new adventure and the satisfaction that would come from being able to establish ourselves on our own.
I knew that the transition wouldn’t be an easy one, but then I told myself, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”
My husband and I took a leap of faith and decided to give Canada a try. We arrived in Canada on April 30 that same year and were completely exhausted after a 40-hour plane ride from India. My husband had contracted food poisoning during our layover in London, eight hours prior to our arrival in Canada, and was in no condition to help me navigate this strange new world to our new home.
It was beginning to hit me just how out of my comfort zone this journey would take me.
Seven-year-old Satya on family vacation in western Rajasthan in India. From left, Satya, her brother Surya, mom Saroj and dad Shailesh Amin. (Submitted by Satya Patel)
Speed bumps on my journey
My early days in Canada were not easy.
After applying for jobs everywhere based on my previous experience in clinical research, I failed to get any interviews. I tried working at McDonald’s, but I lasted only a day.
Next, I landed a part-time job as a cashier at a Superstore.
My job as a university professor in Ahmedabad in western India was being held for me, with the option to go back to my position within three months if I decided to return to India. I would be lying if I said the thought didn’t cross my mind.
Thankfully, the universe had a different plan for me. One evening, a lady walked into the store and asked me if I was new there. I was surprised and said, “Yes, I am new, how did you know?”
She smiled and told me that I did not look like a regular cashier. Then it hit me how visibly nervous I was. She asked me what I did for a living back home, and after talking briefly, asked for my contact number, which I reluctantly provided to her.
A rural opportunity
Just as I was ready to give up on my new venture in Canada, I got a call from the cousin of the Superstore customer. He owned a pharmacy and was looking for a pharmacy assistant.
WATCH | CBC host Adrienne Lamb took a road trip northwest of Edmonton to Lac Ste. Anne County:
Our Edmonton: Road trip to Mayerthorpe
19 days ago
Duration 44:09
Join CBC host Adrienne Lamb for interesting stories from the capital region, including a road trip northwest of Edmonton to Lac Ste. Anne County.
After a formal interview, I landed the position, which was located in Evansburg, Alta., — a hamlet about 90 kilometres west of Edmonton with a population under 1,000.
My first thought upon arrival was, “Where is everyone? It is so quiet here.”
I saw a deer crossing sign for the first time and I asked my new boss, “Do deer actually, physically cross here? In town?”
I grew up in Mumbai, a concrete jungle, so the thought of seeing wildlife in the middle of town was inconceivable to me.
I wondered if the pharmacy even had enough customers to warrant hiring me. But I soon found out that I was wrong. Evansburg is a bustling little community and the pharmacy was very busy. People were friendly and soon I knew most patients by name.
Going for my dreams
My boss pushed me to renew my licence to work as a pharmacist in Canada. It took me three years to do the paperwork, endless hours of studying with full-time work and unfamiliar regulations that I found challenging.
During this time, I also worked as a relief pharmacist in Edmonton and realized the connection I made with my patients in a rural town is totally different from the city. They didn’t feel like a number to be served.
When I was finally ready to open my own pharmacy, my husband and I visited multiple locations in rural Alberta.
We wanted a community with all basic amenities and close to the city if needed for a day trip. Mayerthorpe, Alta., a town just north of Evansburg and about 130 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, ticked all the boxes.
Patel, wearing a scarf made by a patient, poses with the Grinch during Mayerthorpe’s Christmas Lite-Up Night in December 2023. (Submitted by Satya Patel)
Mayerthorpe Value Drug Mart opened in December 2019.
Many people were surprised that I knew their names when they came to my store and my patients started referring their friends and family. My lifelong superpower of remembering names clearly paid off.
The community welcomed me into their fold. During my second Christmas in Mayerthorpe, as pandemic lockdowns kept most people inside, my wonderful clients dropped off gifts like crochet socks, table runners, earrings, candles, soaps, plants and flowers.
Patel holds a business card holder made of deer antlers — a gift from a patient at her pharmacy in Mayerthorpe, Alta. (Submitted by Satya Patel )
One of my patients dropped off fresh apples and asked me, “Do you know how to make pie?”
“Not at all,” I said and laughed. The next Monday, I had three pies at the store to share with my staff, thanks to that kind patient.
I am thankful to everyone in the town of Mayerthorpe for accepting me with an open heart.
Nilufa Virji, the Superstore customer who I was reluctant to give my phone number to, is now my close friend. I called her after every pharmacy exam I passed. We often meet in Edmonton, and after I moved to Mayerthorpe, we stay in touch over phone calls and texts.
Rural communities are frequently overlooked by bigger institutions. But in my opinion, they are the heart of Canada and the reason I’m still here and plan to be for a long time to come.
Mayerthorpe is now home and it feels like everyone knows my name.
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Montreal’s mayor says a welcome sign depicting a woman wearing a veil that adorns a lobby at city hall will be taken down in the name of secularism.
Valérie Plante said during a talk show that aired Sunday night that the image of the woman wearing a hijab will be removed because of the “discomfort” it causes but also because institutions must strive to be secular.
The welcome sign, as well as a photo in a public library of a young girl wearing a headscarf, has been criticized in the media, and the Parti Québécois has said the two images show that religion has begun invading the public sphere.
Plante told Radio-Canada talk show “Tout le monde en parle” that she understands the discomfort with the welcome sign, adding that it’s possible to promote diversity as well as secularism.
The subject of religion in the public sphere has resurfaced in recent weeks after 11 teachers were suspended at a Montreal public elementary school over allegations of toxicity and creeping religious instruction.
The mayor’s office said today it had nothing further to add about Plante’s appearance on the talk show, which came just days after she announced she wouldn’t seek a third term as mayor in next year’s elections.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2024.
OTTAWA – Former senator Mobina Jaffer says she was told by the Sudanese intelligence director that he felt Canadian officials had asked him to detain Montreal man Abousfian Abdelrazik.
Jaffer, who retired from the Senate earlier this year, testified today in Federal Court in Abdelrazik’s lawsuit against Ottawa over his detention and alleged torture in Sudanese custody two decades ago.
She recalled her September 2004 meeting in Sudan with Salah Gosh, who was then the director of the country’s intelligence service.
Jaffer, Canada’s special envoy for peace in Sudan at the time, said Gosh told her Canada thought Abdelrazik was a terrorist and wanted him to find out if he was indeed an extremist.
She said Gosh informed her Sudanese intelligence tried “all kinds of ways” to find out, but was completely satisfied he was not a terrorist, and that it was time for Canada to take him back.
Jaffer said it was no secret the intelligence service used brutal methods, so she immediately knew that Abdelrazik did not have a pleasant experience in custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2024.
MONTREAL – The Parti Québécois says it would lean on robots and automation to replace temporary workers as part of a detailed proposal to cut immigration to Quebec.
Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says it’s a lie that immigration can fix labour shortages, adding that Quebec should instead follow the lead of countries like Japan and China that have invested heavily in robotics and artificial intelligence.
The sovereigntist opposition party wants to cut the number of non-permanent residents in the province to 250,000 or 300,000, down from 600,000 today.
In a policy paper published this morning, the party says it would create a special fund for the automation of sectors affected by labour shortages, including manufacturing and retail.
St-Pierre Plamondon says Quebec’s existing immigration system puts pressure on housing and threatens the French language, and he also wants to cut the number of permanent immigrants to Quebec to 35,000 from 50,000 annually.
The PQ leader says Quebec will only attain a viable immigration model if the province achieves independence from Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2024.
