Laval bakery faces closure as French pastry chefs await visa extensions

Two qualified employees at a bakery in Laval could be forced to return to France because their work visas have expired.

Both employees have asked for extensions but have had no confirmation. The bakery may have to close down while they wait.

Inside Marché 440 in Laval, La Mie Dorée bakery and pastry shop specializes in French recipes. One of its secret ingredients might be the young talent—two pastry chefs from France who came to Quebec to work.

Louise Ricolleau was trained as a pastry chef in France and loves La Belle Province. “I love baking in Quebec.”

She arrived in Canada with a working holiday visa, a type of permit that allows someone to work and travel.

Ricolleau’s colleague Camille Samson is on a different type of permit called a Young Professionals Visa and said she loves it here.

La Mie Dorée owner Elodie Alvarez said it’s not easy to find this kind of skill.

Alvarez hired an immigration lawyer to help get answers because Samson’s last visa renewal request was refused without explanation.

And if she doesn’t hear back, she will be forced to leave the province in March.

Both chefs are now waiting on their Quebec selection certificate, which is required to apply for permanent residency. They said they have been waiting for 145 days despite the average 116-day processing time.

Alvarez said they are excellent employees who show up every day and work hard—adding that losing them could cost her business.

“They left France for this. It was their dream,” Alvarez said.

Francois Vincent of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said many of his members are facing a similar challenge.

“We cannot play with human lives of people who have decided to come here for the benefit of a business and a community and put a small business at risk of closing,” he said.

CTV News contacted the Quebec immigration minister’s office, which said they could not comment on a particular case.