Category: mental health

Special bonds formed at Ontario farms

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For migrant farm workers arriving in Canada, securing a job in the agricultural sector offers a significant opportunity to earn income that may not be available in their home countries. For most workers, their primary motivation for coming to Canada is to improve their own lives and support their families back home.

Upon arrival, they often establish new friendships and form bonds that last a lifetime with fellow workers and with their employers. Afterall, many workers have been returning to the same farms for years, and in many cases, even decades!

Tony, a seasonal worker from Jamaica, has been working on the same vegetable farm for an incredible 41 years. According to Tony, it all comes down to the people.

“Incredible people! Here I work with good people, I keep coming back year after year and I always look forward to being with them. They are like my family away from home, and everyone takes care of each other,” he explains.

Leroy, a Jamaican worker at a tender fruit farm, shares a similar experience about returning to the same farm for 36 years.

“I’ve been coming here since 1987 and have always worked at this farm. In Jamaica, they gave us a card with information about the programs available to work in Canada. I decided I was going to try it. Here I am today, on the same farm 36 years later.”

This feeling isn’t unique to Tony and Leroy. It’s a common theme among both migrant farm workers and the farmers themselves. The relationship they share is often summed up in one word: family.

Josh Taminga, a strawberry farmer at TamBerry farms, is another example. He employs approximately 30 seasonal workers depending on the time of year. Having grown up around a greenhouse, Josh has developed long-standing relationships with many of them, some spanning over 15 years.

“I grew up in the greenhouse, so the people you work with become your friends,” he says. “You see them at church on Sundays; some came to my wedding. Seasonal workers have been intertwined throughout (my life) for the past 10-15 years.”

In the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), farmers can request specific workers they would like to welcome back to their farm each year. This practice is extremely common and a recent survey even showed that four out of five workers on farms have been returning to the same farm for over five years.

The practice of hiring the same people back to a farm operation is so common that the SAWP program has a special recognition payment clause that employers pay to workers who return to the same farm for more than 4 years.

Despite the close bonds formed, nothing can truly replicate the families that these seasonal workers are separated from for months at a time. It’s a significant sacrifice, but one that most workers believe is worthwhile.

“It’s always hard leaving, but it’s worth it; when you make that decision, you must consider the benefits,” explains Eddie Gayle, who works with Taminga at TamBerry farms. “I usually don’t tell my family the date I am coming home. I like to surprise them; they anticipate I am coming home soon and getting excited. That’s the moment you look forward to, seeing the joy in your kids’ faces.”

While the distance can be difficult, technology has made it easier than ever for workers to stay connected to friends and families back home through video chats and phone calls. And each year, there’s a sense of comfort for so many of the workers knowing when they come back to Ontario, they are returning to their second families.

Do migrant farm workers have access to any support systems?

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With the help of many groups, organizations, and funding sources, there are an abundance of resources made available to migrant farm workers during their stay in Ontario. In this blog, we’ll take a look at a few of the great support systems in Ontario for the migrant farm workers who come to work in the farming industry each year.

Community health centres

In Ontario, community health centres (CHCs) play a crucial role in promoting and maintaining the well-being of individuals and communities by providing support for the emotional, physical, and social needs of those in their area. Examples include providing accessible primary health care, engaging in community outreach to promote healthy lifestyles, and having the resources to offer culturally responsive care.

For many years, CHCs with migrant farm workers in their community have made it a priority to ensure workers feel welcomed in the community and aren’t afraid to get the healthcare coverage they are entitled to under the contracts of the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) and Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program.

The Grand River CHC is one of several CHCs across the province that provides resources and services to migrant farm workers. They provide primary health care clinics on farms, at mobile clinics in town centres, or virtually. Grand River CHC also continues to explore ways to address health and wellbeing concerns through social work and health promotion interventions, while offering primary health care for issues such as muscular skeletal, hypertension, diabetes, skin, sexual health, or eye issues. Spanish speaking health professionals are made available at the clinics to ensure the workers are comfortable and there is no miscommunication.

Each year, the Grand River CHC, along with many of its partner agencies, holds a health fair for farm workers. This year, the fair is set to occur on June 29. For more details please visit their website.

Migrant Worker Support Program

In 2021, to further strengthen the support for migrant farm workers, the federal government introduced the Migrant Worker Support Program (MWSP) to fund community-based initiatives for workers. The purpose of the program, as outlined by the Employment and Social Development Canada, is to ensure the health, safety, and quality of life for workers while they are living and working in Canada.

TeaMWork Windsor-Essex is a project that falls under the MWSP and currently provides funding to 11 different organizations in the Windsor, Essex, and Lambton regions. This includes language services, legal-aid, mental health services, and many more! Visit their website to learn more about the events, opportunities, and success stories that have been made possible by this amazing initiative.

Regional groups

There are other regional support groups like Migrant Matters Flamborough, which, with the help of volunteers, offer weekly Sunday gatherings for workers in the area. Their efforts are highlighted by a huge BBQ celebration in August, which is a great social setting and usually an opportunity to grab a tasty meal. There are many similar groups in other parts of the province, too.

For more information about migrant farm workers, including wages, check-out some of our other blog posts at https://www.morethanamigrantworker.ca/blog/.