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New protections, more supports for Ontario’s migrant farm workers
Canada’s temporary foreign worker programs have been increasingly drawing public and media scrutiny as their use in some sectors of Canada’s economy has grown dramatically. For agriculture, hiring seasonal and international farm workers is not new. In fact, Ontario fruit and vegetable growers welcomed the first Jamaican workers to the province in 1966 to address what even then was a growing shortage of farm workers.
Why temporary foreign workers play a vital role in supporting Canadian agriculture and food security
There has been a lot of talk lately about the temporary foreign worker (TFW) program, painting the program in a negative light and culminating in the recent commitment by federal Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault to tighten access to the program and reduce the number of TFWs in Canada.
Seasonal farm workers a 65-year tradition started in The Blue Mountains
A celebration in Thornbury this week marked six decades of a relationship that spans from Canada to Jamaica, and it all began on a farm in The Blue Mountains. The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) started with just six workers hired to help on the Mitchell family farm in Thornbury in 1965 and today it's a national program specifically built for the agricultural sector.
Timothy Clarke comes to Canada for seven months every year for ‘a chance at a better life’ for his young son
Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) may not be perfect, concedes Althea Riley, acting chief liaison officer with the Jamaican Liaison Service (JLS), an arm of her nation’s Ministry of Labour and Social Security. But the impact of a symbiotic more than 50-year relationship for Jamaicans and the country’s economy as well as Canadian farmers, food production and food security is undeniable.
Jamaican farm workers enjoy dominoes, music, food, good vibes
Jamaican farm workers in the Simcoe region enjoyed a Dominoes Extravaganza on Sunday featuring ‘music, food, beverages and good vibes. And dominoes, of course, all hosted by the Jamaican Liaison Service at Townsend Fruit Farms east of Simcoe. “It’s a Jamaican pastime,” said Simcoe region liaison officer James Golding. “At most farms, that’s the way they socialize.”
Ontario farm jobs a coveted opportunity for seasonal workers
It was an emotional day for Jamaican Adam Arboine when he found out that he’d been accepted into Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP). The news meant a coveted seasonal job in an Ontario vineyard – an opportunity to earn money to support his family that has brought him to Ontario for more than 22 years.
Area farms rely on ‘incredibly important’ foreign workers
Every year, tens of thousands of foreign workers come to Canada to put down roots — literally. With planting season well underway, hundreds of foreign workers from Mexico, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad/Tobago and eight other Caribbean countries have once again returned to work on nearby farms, including some within the Holland Marsh.
Soccer tournament sheds light on the many hobbies of migrant farm workers
The smell of freshly cut grass and the sound of cleats kicking a ball filled the air. When teams filed off arriving buses, it was easy to tell this was a day circled on the calendar for everyone in attendance. On August 13, the fourth annual Farms of Norfolk Football Tournament played host to 12 teams of migrant farm workers from different farms across southern Ontario.
NOTL migrant worker bike program a second career for skilled volunteers
Dennis Blake will often see his handiwork when he’s out and about in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Blake is a volunteer with the Bikes for Farmworkers program and he has learned to recognize the bikes he and his fellow volunteers have worked on after they leave the group’s shop. “We put reflectors on … so we recognize them, or at least I do,”
Migrant farm workers keen to return home as growing season ends
It’s fall harvest in Ontario and for many of the province’s migrant farm workers, that means it will soon be time to go back home to their families for the winter. Every year, Ontario fruit and vegetable growers employ approximately 20,000 seasonal and temporary foreign workers through the government-regulated Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) and the agricultural stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program.
Federal inspections show most Ontario employers follow rules protecting migrant workers
A year’s worth of federal government inspections revealed 94 per cent of companies that hire temporary foreign workers are living up to regulations aimed at protecting the employees.Between April 2022 and March 2023, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) conducted about 2,100 inspections of employers across all sectors of the economy, including fruit and vegetable producers.
Home away from home. Foreign workers are fairly treated says fruit grower … and the workers
Seasonal workers at Nighthawk Orchards outside of Meaford are happy with their home away from home as they prune apple trees in the sunshine. “We grow these trees from the bud,” said Delroy Martin, who has been travelling from his home in St. Thomas, Jamaica, to work at the orchard since 1989. “We enjoy it a lot. If I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t be here.”