For Rupinder Kaur, the reality of life on Prince Edward Island is very different from what she imagined when she moved here last spring.
Kaur is from India. Like so many foreign workers on P.E.I., who moved here with post-graduate work permits after finishing their studies elsewhere in Canada, Kaur fully expected she’d have to settle for a low-wage job.
What she didn’t expect was to have to work two jobs, seven days and 60 hours a week, just to cover her groceries and rent — $700 for one room in a four-bedroom house on the outskirts of Charlottetown.
“Initially, I just tried working at [McDonalds], and then I realized it’s too expensive, and I can’t handle everything with one job,” said Kaur, who also works at Dollarama on weekends.
“I just try to manage everything within my monthly earnings. Like, not try to go outside for fun. Just every …