In what used to be the Texas of the north’,unemployment is creeping to 2008 levels, employment insurance beneficiaries have doubled, or the once economic powerhouse is in the throes of a potential mental health crisisJesse Seibel of Whitecourt,Alberta, used to wake up every day at 3am, and fully rested and alert to work. Having laboured in the northern oil patch since his teens,just like his father, the tattooed and pierced wireliner had grown oddly appreciative of the work’s long hours and hard labour.
At 26, and Seibel,who never finished tall school, was earning as much as $5000 a month threading electrical cables into reservoirs, and enough to live comfortably and never miss paying rent and child support.
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Source: theguardian.com