When fire destroyed the Joey’s Pizza and Pasta building on York Street in Sackville on April 7, about a dozen people lost their jobs. And for Andres Mendieta, the Joey’s chef and kitchen manager for the past 4 years, the job he lost is irreplaceable, at least until the Canadian government says it’s not.

Originally from Ecuador, Mendieta has been working in Canada on what’s known as a “closed visa”, meaning he’s legally allowed to work for just the company who made the arrangements for him to come. “I’m only allowed to work for one person,” explains Mendieta, and that’s Joey’s Pizza. “And until [April 7th], it was okay.”

Mendieta is now in a sort of legal limbo, caught waiting on approval of his permanent residency application, or another temporary work visa that could free him up to work elsewhere.

Mendieta is also unsure if he will qualify for EI, because although he’s been paying into it, he can’t legally look for another job, typically a requirement of filing an EI claim.

In order for Mendieta to get his first Canadian work visa back in May 2019, Joey’s owner Leeya Hicks had to first send in a Labour Market Impact Assessment to show that there was a need for a foreign worker to fill the job. Mendieta says since then he’s developed a deep trust with Hicks, and has done well at Joey’s, starting as a cook and eventually being promoted to kitchen manager. After a year in Sackville, he applied to bring his wife Paola Gonzales to the town, and then about 18 months ago, they both applied to become permanent residents.

Unfortunately, the applications for Mendieta and Gonzales are two of more than 622,000 applications for permanent residency in the queue at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). More than half of those are considered behind the expected service standard, which varies from 60 days to 11 months. Mendieta and Gonzalez have been waiting 18 months.

Screen cap from IRCC website, April 19, 2023.

Permanent resident status would solve Mendieta’s current conundrum, as would getting approval for a Bridging Open Work Permit, meant to bridge the gap for workers whose original permits might expire before they get PR status. But Mendieta’s application for a Bridging permit is also stuck in the queue at IRCC.

Last week, Mendieta reached out to MP Dominic LeBlanc’s Shediac constituency office, as well as MLA Megan Mitton’s office in Sackville, for help. Mendieta says Leblanc’s office emailed him to say they have requested information on the status of his application.

Mitton says she has reached out to New Brunswick Immigration Minister Arlene Dunn as well as MP Dominic Leblanc, “to get information and help with the next steps,” on Mendieta’s situation. She also said in an emailed statement: “My office has been working to ensure there is access to other provincial government services [Mendieta] needs as well. I will continue to work with both levels of government to resolve this as quickly as possible.”

MP Dominic LeBlanc’s office is aware of Mendieta’s case, but were not able to respond before publication time.

IRCC spokesperson Jeffrey MacDonald responded to CHMA via email to say the department is “working to reduce application backlogs and build a stronger immigration system.” MacDonald said IRCC is “digitizing applications, hiring and training new staff, and harnessing automation technologies,” in order to increase its capacity and efficiency.

Mendieta and his wife are eager to get their new PR status. He has hopes of possibly opening his own restaurant one day, serving Ecuadoran or South American cuisine. “There are a couple of ideas I have of my own,” says Mendieta. “If I could, I would definitely try to open my own place.”

But the plan was to one day move on from Joey’s, with his boss Hicks and co-workers wishing him well, says Mendieta, not to wake up one day to discover his beloved kitchen burning to the ground.

Joey’s Pizza and Pasta, the day after the fire. Photo: JJ Stiles

Even without his immigration woes, Mendieta says losing Joey’s is a huge loss for him, as it is for so many others. He loved his co-workers, he trusted his boss. And he had worked up to kitchen manager after starting as a cook four years ago. He wasn’t ready for it all to come to a sudden end on Good Friday.

As it stands, Mendieta and Gonzalez have no idea when their permanent residency status might come through, whether it be a few more days, weeks or months. While Gonzales is working full time for the Salvation Army Thrift Store, it’s not enough income to cover their life in Sackville and also support for Mendieta’s kids from a previous marriage, who live back in Ecuador.

“If it was for me, it’s okay,” says Mendieta, “but then my kids, it’s something different. It’s something that you are like, Okay, this is not how I planned it.”

For now Mendieta is focussing on communicating with IRCC, to try to get himself in a legal position to work again. “It’s been a year and six months,” says Mendieta, “and that’s worrying.”