Good morning. Thank you so much for your time.
My name is Elisa Cardona, and I worked full time for seven years as a hostess and server at the Pacific Gateway Hotel near Vancouver Airport.
When the government took over the hotel, they brought in the Red Cross. Some of us were displaced from restaurants, kitchen and housekeeping jobs.
The government has repeatedly extended its takeover of our hotel. We were told they would be out last May, then August, then November, then it got extended to March 30, 2020, and now it's been extended to the end of the summer of this year.
The hotel has used a federal takeover as an excuse to terminate me and 142 of my co-workers. That's over 70% of our staff.
Many of us were fired in the last two months and are women. I'm a single mom raising two children ages 12 and 14, and I have been worrying about my finances and money this past year. It has been incredibly stressful for me and my family. I expected to go back to my job when it was time.
We asked the hotel to allow us to return to our jobs after COVID-19 had passed and when the work becomes available again. They have refused the whole time.
The federal government is subsidizing a hotel using a temporary pandemic to fire and replace us for less. These have been good, family-supporting jobs. Why is the government allowing this to happen?
Prime Minister Trudeau promised us a feminist recovery, yet women are bearing the brunt of firings at Pacific Gateway on the government's watch. A human rights complaint has been filed against the hotel for sex and racial discrimination against women because their jobs have been disproportionately impacted.
How much has the government spent on this hotel while women like me are treated like we're disposable? After the latest round of mass hirings, we went on strike and remain on the picket line. What's happening at our hotel is not acceptable. The government can and should act. That's why we're asking the government to stop subsidizing the Pacific Gateway Hotel.
Thank you.