Fly-in Fly-Out: impacts on women and northern communities

The work shift system called "fly-in, fly-out" (FIFO) brings important impacts on women and Indigenous employment, work-family balance and indigenous and non-indigenous communities ‘vitality. In fact, women would suffer more importantly the negative impacts of FIFO then men (Joncas, 2015). The Association of women from la Côte-Nord in Quebec, Canada wishes to improve the knowledge and understanding of the impacts of FIFO on communities by conducting focus groups and interviews in communities from the Côte-Nord and Abitibi-Témiscamingue regions. A literature review has been made and allow the creation of an efficient interview chart to conduct the focus groups. This method of data collection will allow a wider understanding of FIFO impacts by allowing different stakeholder – workers and spouse, as well as residents from host communities – to think about the particular challenges they have to deal with. Researches will be conducted with the support of the municipalities in five communities from the Côte-Nord and Abitibi regions: Sept-Îles, Havre-Saint-Pierre, Matimekosh, Schefferville, Fermont and Val-d’Or. The results of this project will allow a better understanding of the FIFO phenomena and to take relevant action to improve communities’ well-being.