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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.
Spacious quarters improve lives of temporary foreign workers
Heated floors. Airy living room with big-screen TV. Stainless steel kitchen. These are a few of the favourite things that Victor Lugo and Eduardo Bautista are enjoying in new living quarters. They are temporary foreign workers (TFWs), part of the two-year AgStream program, who took up residence the first week of January 2023 at Meyers Fruit Farms, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
Health program expanding to serve hundreds of temporary foreign workers in Chatham-Kent
A program to provide primary health-care outreach to temporary foreign workers in Chatham-Kent will expand to serve hundreds of people thanks to some permanent funding. A primary health-care team with Chatham-Kent Community Health Centres currently provides onsite care to workers at two local farms and learned the interest was there to serve more agricultural operations with temporary foreign workers.
Migrant workers fair in Essex County a success
On Sunday, April 30, 2023, the Migrant Worker Community Program (MWCP) held its Health and Information Fair at the Roma Club in Leamington, Ontario. Each year, approximately 20,000 migrant workers come to live and work in Essex County. According to its organizers, the one-of-a-kind event was a perfect opportunity for migrant workers to mingle and familiarize themselves with the services available in Essex County and gain a greater understanding of the local organizations in the community.
Government programs bring migrant workers to Ontario fruit and vegetable farms
The arrival of freshly picked asparagus in Ontario grocery stores unofficially marks the start of local food season in this province. For about two months starting in early May, asparagus is cut, washed, sorted, graded, packed and shipped daily from Ontario farms - and helping to make all that happen are farm workers like Errol Williams from Jamaica.