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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.”
Canada’s migrant farm worker fact and information sheet
Seasonal and temporary international farm workers form an essential part of Canada’s domestic food supply chain and help Canadian growers address labour needs on their farms. With the money they earn in Canada, TFWs are able to support their families and communities back home. There are many examples of workers who have established farms and businesses in their home countries, created local jobs and sent their children to university.
Fruit and vegetable growers push back against UN expert comments linking foreign worker programs to ‘slavery
Ontario’s fruit and vegetable growers are pushing back against recent comments linking Canada’s temporary foreign worker programs to slavery. The statements were made recently by Tomoya Obokala, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, as he ended a two week visit to Canada.
Fruit and vegetable growers respond to UN rapporteur comments on temporary foreign worker programs
Ontario’s fruit and vegetable growers are pushing back against recent comments linking Canada’s temporary foreign worker programs to slavery. The statements were made recently by Tomoya Obokala, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, as he ended a two week visit to Canada.
Government-regulated programs key to employment protections for migrant farm workers
Leroy Gregorio from Jamaica comes to Canada annually to work at Truly Green Farms in Chatham, where he first worked tending tomato plants in the greenhouse and now harvests ripe fruit. “My job keeps me active. It keeps me going because I am a guy who thinks it is never enough. When I leave Jamaica to come here, it is all about working..."
Fruit and vegetable growers welcome Recognized Employer Pilot for temporary foreign workers
Ontario’s fruit and vegetable growers are pleased with this week’s introduction of the Recognized Employer Pilot (REP) for qualified employers who hire workers through the Temporary Foreign Worker program. The announcement was made by Randy Boissonnault, Canada’s Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages.
Migrant farm workers proud of work in Canada
Results from a recent report released by an independent international taskforce paint a picture of migrant farm workers in Ontario that isn’t often seen by the public: people who are proud of the work they do to feed Canadians and whose jobs on Ontario farms make a positive difference in their lives and those of their families.
Farmers investing in new migrant worker housing
There is pride in the voice of Maricela Ramirez Zamarripa as she shows visitors around her new home on the Niagara Region tree fruit and flower farm where she works. The Mexican woman is a seasonal agricultural worker and for the last eight years has been working at Meyers Fruit Farms, a farm business that has just built five new housing units to accommodate up to 40 of their international employees.
Entering 57th year Seasonal worker program essential part of Canada’s ag industry
“It’s a very important program for us. It has enabled our industry to grow and if we did not have access to these workers who do great jobs and want to work here, we could not have large orchards in the apple industry.” So says Cathy McKay, chair of the Ontario Apple Growers and a grower with Nature’s Bounty Farm of Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP)
News release – Growers welcome positive findings of Jamaican report into working conditions on Ontario fruit and vegetable farms
The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA) welcomes the completion of the Jamaican government’s fact-finding report into the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP). The report found that a large proportion of Jamaican farm workers have a positive view of SAWP, and the vast majority of Ontario farm employers using the program are operating within its parameters.