Working ‘away’: Community & Family Impacts of Long Distance Labour Commuting in Mackenzie, BC
2011 On-going
The town of Mackenzie is one of BC’s ‘instant towns’, built in the late 1960s to house the workforce for a new regional forest industry. A significant economic downturn in Mackenzie beginning in early 2008 resulted in the closure of all major forest industry operations (sawmills and pulp and paper mills) in the community. As a result, some of these forest sector workers had to engage in long distance labour commuting (LDLC). This project provides an opportunity to explore the implications of LDLC at both an individual and community level. The first part of the project occurred in Sept/Oct 2011, with meetings were held in Mackenzie to assess the scope, scale, implications, and experiences of long distance labour commuting for workers, their families, community groups, and the local business community.
Part two of the project occurred in May/June 2012, with a household survey to assess the scale and scope of LDLC. Interviews were also completed with workers to explore the motivations behind different pathways that workers take to either continue with, or to stop, their engagement with LDLC, as well as to explore the contributions that LDLC can bring to enhance community capacity as workers return to Mackenzie and apply new lessons and insights to their workplace. We also spoke with community organizations to explore how LDLC has shaped their program needs and operations.
Project reports include:
- Assessing the Scale of Long Distance Labour Commuting in Mackenzie, BC
- Contrasting Pathways with Long Distance Labour Commuting in Mackenzie, BC
- Hollowing Out the Community: Community Impacts of Extended Long Distance Labour Commuting
- Long Distance Labour Commuting Contributions to Community Capacity in Mackenzie, BC