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September 30, 2019

Iraqi newcomer building bridges, fixing roads of Cape Breton

 

 

As reported in The ChronicleHerald, when he immigrated to Halifax a couple of years ago, the Iraqi engineer stayed in an Airbnb because he knew nobody. Now, he is building bridges and maintaining the roads of Cape Breton.

Haider Alsaeq, 39, immigrated from Babylon, Iraq to Halifax in February 2017. Since November last year, he has been a project engineer with Nova Scotia’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructural Renewal.

“I’m proud to be part from this big team that is improving the infrastructure of Nova Scotia,” Alsaeq said. “I feel proud about the small contributions that I make every day … to make (these areas) more accessible in Nova Scotia.”

The newcomer applied for his current job through a Canadian government website. “They offered the job and I accepted it,” he said. The Iraqi engineer supervises around 20 workers now, including construction inspectors and checkers.

He does on-site visits to make sure that the construction is being done according the design and to department standards.

“Safety is an important part of my job. I have to make sure that the work is being done in a safe way.”

He can give many examples about his daily work that is making the commute easier in Cape Breton. “I have a job on the Smokey Mountain (in Victoria County).… We will be doing widening for the existing road, and we’ll be replacing two bridges there,” Alsaeq said. “We’ll do a new construction for a new road because we have a sharp turn, so we’ll build a better alignment for the road.”

His immigration to Canada wasn’t planned. “Back in 2015, I read (on the news) that Canada started a new (application) system for immigration called the Express Entry,” Alseaq said. “I found a program called Nova Scotia Demand (that aims to bring highly skilled workers to Nova Scotia).”

Then he got his credentials were recognised by an organization called World Education Services. He has a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Babylon in Iraq. “WES recognized (my degree) as equivalent to a Canadian master’s degree.”

He had to take an English language test and prepare the rest of his application, including his resume and his reference forms. Alseaq got a nomination after waiting for nine months. Then he got the permanent residency and a Canadian visa.

Keep reading in The ChronicleHerald