Date: 2023
Location: Edmonton
Profile: Trinidad & Tobago-born Milton Zaiffdeen grew up by a Texaco refinery where he and other family members found work. His rigorous training in all Texaco’s operations from 1963-1966 prepared him for immigration to Canada in 1966 and work in Alberta’s oil sector. He served as a senior operator at Celanese, mothballed a Texaco Refinery for Shell for shipment to Chile, moved to Imperial Oil in ammonia and fertilizer production, and then Irving Oil in New Brunswick.
During the 1980s recession Zaiffdeen’s employment shifted to contract work in Thailand, China, Russia, Mexico, Uzbekistan and Italy, pre-commissioning, commissioning and providing start-up training. Both abroad and in Fort McMurray he introduced production processes and safety standards learned from his Texaco Trinidad training. Zaiffdeen’s Alberta work crossed all phases of oil, gas and fertilizer production, including permit processing, water treatment, chemical processing, gasification, and catalytic cracking, both in upstream and downstream processing. Though he experienced brushes with racism during his 57-year career and raised his family in Edmonton, he organized many Caribbean trips for friends around the world.
In Edmonton Zaiffdeen promoted Caribbean culture and hosted entertainers like Bob Marley, while playing for and managing a band that performed at many upscale functions.
Keywords: Apprenticeship; Celanese; Fort McMurray; Imperial Oil; Industrial accidents; PetroCan; Shell; Texaco; Trinidad & Tobago; Water treatment
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See also: Black Communities in Alberta; Occupational Health and Safety in Alberta; Oil Workers in Alberta; Systemic Racism in Alberta