The saga of Chinese dépanneur owners
Le Devoir looks at Chinese dépanneur owners this weekend: one in six of the independent shops belongs to a Chinese immigrant family, some of whom are highly educated people; many deps operate on a very narrow margin. Also a profile of dépanneur owner Ying Jia and an online video documentary co-produced by the NFB.
Raoul 13:13 on 2012/04/01 Permalink
I love the chinese deps. Its always the same family members working the till, they tend to treat their regulars with more respect. At couche tard, its always someone different so theyre always carding you or watching you like a thief.
William 13:23 on 2012/04/01 Permalink
I’m so pleased that we are celebrating dépanneur owners in this way. The reality is that most work very hard and speak multiple languages in order to provide life’s basics to the people of Montreal. This is, indirectly, a very nice rebuttal to that Verdun nonsense of a few weeks ago.
Kate 13:40 on 2012/04/01 Permalink
It’s true.
The dep at my corner is owned by a nice Chinese couple who work the requisite long hours. Very, very occasionally a friend of theirs minds the shop, but I don’t think the revenue stretches to a regular employee, and their daughter is still too young to take her turn.
J-F Lisée would be pleased, too – I speak with them in French.
Robert J 16:11 on 2012/04/01 Permalink
I usually speak with dep and other business owners in French first, because otherwise it would send the message “oh you’re ethnic, so maybe English is better”. But if they do prefer English, I’ll gladly switch.
Steve Quilliam 22:33 on 2012/04/01 Permalink
I really enjoyed the brief documentary. I wish it was longer and i also wish there was more of these documentary portraying immirants running their small business and how they view our society or the neighborhood they settled in. In this case Petite-Patrie.
Robert J 10:55 on 2012/04/02 Permalink
I just got around to watching the doc. These Le Devoir/ONF collaborations are fantastic. That newspaper is really committed to high quality journalism.