When commercial lawyer Constanza Safatle came to Newfoundland seven years ago from Chile to join her husband who was pursuing his Ph.D. at Memorial University, she was very limited in exercising her professional skills.
Now she’s opening a new social enterprise, Newbornlander, on Cashin Avenue in the capital city, catering to young mothers and children.
Safatle says as a temporary foreign worker, she wasn’t considered a formal immigrant, and the programs and supports she could avail of were limited.
Her English language skills were very limited and she couldn’t access formal English classes.
She strongly believes that Newfoundland and Labrador is a great place for newcomers to set up a business, but it took some time to get there.
One year ago she says, she couldn’t hire people, rent a space, access funding, or get a credit card from the bank for her business.
In order to get her business going, she had to hand a large percentage of her company to a friend, who is a permanent resident.
“It was painful, but it was needed” she lamented.
After that, her business “turned 180 degrees.”
She raised her concerns about limitations set on temporary foreign workers with government officials and says when you connect problem solvers with problems, sustainable solutions can be found.
Safatle says her husband is finishing his Ph.D. this coming month, and when he asked her if she wanted to return to Chile, she said no.
“Newfoundland is my home, and Newbornlander is my baby.”
Minister Fraser praises Newfoundland and Labrador’s Immigration strategy, says they’ve done a great job securing the future of the province.@VOCMNEWS pic.twitter.com/TtvaY3gYWA
— Noah Sheppard (@SheppardNoah14) March 25, 2022
