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New protections, more supports for Ontario’s migrant farm workers

Published On: October 15, 2024

Originally published in: Ottawa Citizen.

By Lilian Schaer, Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Growers’ Association

Published Oct 15, 2024

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.

Today, Ontario growers employ approximately 20,000 seasonal and temporary foreign workers annually. They come to this province legally through the long-running Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) for horticulture and the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program’s agricultural stream.

Growers are proud to point to how much positive change has taken place in recent years to ensure better experiences for both workers and employers – changes that are in direct response to challenges identified with these programs and employers working with government and worker advocacy organizations to provide new protections and safeguards for workers.

“Many critics still use outdated and misleading language when discussing these programs and are ignoring the significant new protections and safeguards that have been added in recent years to address legitimate concerns,” notes Bill George, a Niagara Region grape grower and chair of the Labour Committee at the Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Growers’ Association.

In fact, the SAWP has long had an annual review mechanism where the workers’ home countries can address issues and program shortcomings to the Canadian government and in some cases directly to farm employers. These annual negotiations ensure that the SAWP remains current and reflects the values and interests of Canada and the workers’ home countries.

“Agriculture, perhaps more than any other sector of the economy, knows how essential seasonal and temporary foreign workers are – and that without them, we wouldn’t be able to grow most of the fruit and vegetable crops that Canadians love and that are an important part of our national food security,” George adds.

Among the biggest changes has been a provision of open work permits for vulnerable workers that started in 2019 and lets those workers freely seek employment with any other employer in Canada for the remainder of their work permit period.

This complements existing mobility for workers, including applying for a new work permit while they are already working here. SAWP workers can also request to be transferred to a different approved employer by their country’s liaison office without having to go through the process of applying for a new work permit.

Workers can access help in a variety of ways, including a confidential toll-free 24-hour federal government hotline that was introduced in 2021 and, in the case of SAWP employees, liaison officers from their home countries who can help. New federal rules introduced in 2022 provide additional protections from retribution and reprisals for workers who come forward about unsatisfactory working conditions.

In 2021, the federal government committed almost $50 million to ensuring workers are aware of their rights and can access appropriate protections and supports. One of the groups providing these services is The Neighbourhood Organization (TNO), a long-standing Toronto-based settlement services organization that has opened offices in towns like Simcoe and Leamington in the last several years to extend their services to farm workers in those areas.

Jennifer Rajasekar leads the The Neighbourhood Organization office in Simcoe. Supplied

“We provide support to these workers and their employers. They contribute to our economy and bring food to our tables, so we want to help them as much as possible,” says Jennifer Rajasekar, who helps lead the TNO office in Simcoe.

According to Rajasekar, her team helps workers with language, dealing with Canada Revenue Agency, banking issues, how to report problems to the tip line, mental health, managing emergency situations and making social connections in the local community.

“We also talk about navigating the health care system – it’s difficult even for Canadians to do that – and providing mental health supports,” she adds. “Loneliness can be a challenge or figuring out how to deal with problems at home when they are far away, and employers don’t have time to do all of this.”

During the office’s first 18 months of operation, 28,000 of their 57,000 interactions with workers were from first-time visitors and the vast majority were from agriculture. “Our job is to help, but also to highlight the amazing jobs these workers are doing here and to provide employers with whatever support they need for their workers,” she adds. “When you see a smile on someone’s face, and you’ve made their life better – that’s what makes it all worthwhile.”

Ontario’s horticulture industry has also been empowering TFWs in its sector to document their inspiring stories through the More than a Migrant Worker initiative for the past several years so that their voices are also heard in the ongoing public discourse around TFWs.

This story was provided by the Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Growers’ Association.