'Not cool': Crowds overwhelm Fort McMurray clean-up jobs fair

Jobs available for cleanup in Fort McMurray Many lined up Tuesday for a bid at working on the cleanup and restoration in Fort McMurray.

Emotions ran high when hundreds of individuals were turned away from a staffing agency looking to hire people for clean-up and restoration jobs in Fort McMurray.

Alberta-based Spirit Staffing was contracted to hire 500 individuals, attracting job seekers in droves on Tuesday, who formed a long line that stretched far outside an Alberta Works office in Edmonton.

The crowd was so large, it overwhelmed the agency.

"We've had 1,000 people come through already today," Beatrice Floch of Spirit Staffing told CTV Edmonton. "It's amazing. We just can't handle it. Our office ran out of paper, we ran out of applications."

Many of the people hoping for work were eventually told to apply online.

According to a note on Spirit Staffing's website on Wednesday, due to the "overwhelming response," the company will not be accepting any more applications for the Fort McMurray restoration jobs.

Fort McMurray evacuee Markus Dejager was troubled after he was turned away.

"I'm pretty choked up right now, this is not cool," he said. "I was told to come here for a job, and then you get turned away at the door."

DeJager said he's "homeless" after losing two properties to the wildfires. He said his parents had moved into a brand new house just days before the fire burned it down.

Lifelong Fort McMurray resident Tim Chapman, 19, said he had already applied for a couple of restoration jobs online before showing up to the job fair.

"When I heard there was a career fair, (where) I could come and talk to these people…they could see how much passion I have for wanting to get back," he said. "I was hoping that was going to give me an edge."

Floch said the staffing service has been approached by other restoration companies about work in Fort McMurray, so more jobs may be opening up soon.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley told reporters on Tuesday that the province is looking at how it can provide those who lost their jobs because of the fire with alternative sources of income.

"It’s a matter that's being discussed as part of the transitional process, because obviously you do want to ensure that the folks whose jobs have been interrupted, businesses have been interrupted, have the ability to get back and settle in,” she said.

Notley also announced emergency funding for those displaced by the blaze. Adult evacuees will receive a one-time payment of $1,250 and minors will receive $500. The money will be distributed through debit cards. Three centres will be set up throughout the province to distribute the debit cards beginning Wednesday.

The funding, Notley said, is intended to help evacuees with emergency expenses, such as temporary housing, food and clothing.

Concern over out-of-province applicants

Meanwhile, one Fort McMurray resident currently staying at an Edmonton evacuation centre told CTV News there's concern among evacuees that restoration jobs could be filled by people from outside of Alberta.

However, Spirit Staffing has said job applicants from Fort McMurray will be given "special consideration."

The restoration jobs are expected to pay between $15 and $16 an hour.

Clean-up crews are expected to begin working in Fort McMurray in the coming weeks.

With a report from CTV Edmonton