By Rajitha Sivakumaran
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S
ince May, the residents of Fort Mc-
Murray have endured the distress-
ing consequences of a ravaging fire,
which has forced them to partake in the
largest wildfire evacuation in the history of
Alberta. For one businesswoman, the ex-
perience has been particularly tormenting.
“Fort McMurray has always been like a
second home to me,” said Patricia Forrest,
CEO of Align Personnel, a skilled labour and
professional staffing agency. Before found-
ing her own company, Forrest worked in
residential and oil and gas construction
in Fort McMurray. “I found it to be a very
beautiful place. With the time that I spent
there in construction and out of town on
remote sites, I guess I just developed a
strong love for the city,” she added.
Providing staffing solutions to the oil and
gas sector, Align Personnel is an Aborigi-
nal-owned business based in Calgary, but
the company has been growing rapidly
since its inception in 2014 and now has a
second office in Fort McMurray. “When I
was looking at setting up my second of-
fice, there were a few different cities I had
in mind, but Fort McMurray was at the top
of the list,” Forrest said.
In the months leading up to the founding of
her company, Forrest experienced a tragic
loss with the passing of her mother. The
experience on and off site became one of
the fundamental decrees of Align Person-
nel.
“I think by taking that personal investment
of time into each worker and candidate, it
really shows that we are a company that
cares about our workforce,” Forrest said.
The company demonstrated this invest-
ment very well during the Fort McMur-
ray situation when the wildfire displaced
seven workers from Align Personnel. “We
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