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File photo of seasonal agriculture workers from Jamaica at Suncrest Orchards near Simcoe, Ont. (Farmtario photo by Diana Martin)

UN rapporteur calls Canada’s TFW system ‘breeding ground for modern slavery’

Tomoya Obokata says government needs to better protect worker rights and provide better residency path

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A United Nations special rapporteur on modern slavery has called out Canada’s temporary foreign worker (TFW) programs, including those in the agriculture sector. Tomoya Obokata, who was appointed by the UN’s Human Rights Council, spoke in Ottawa Sept. 6 following a 14-day visit to Canada. He called the programs “a breeding ground for contemporary forms
File photo of an Ontario cherry orchard. (UpdogDesigns/iStock/Getty Images)

Pilot plan to cut red tape for reliable TFW employers

Farm employers can apply starting next month

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Canada’s temporary foreign worker (TFW) program is set to give farms a head start in an express lane expected to cut the annual paperwork for that program’s most “trusted employers.” Federal Employment and Workforce Development Minister Randy Boissonault last week launched a three-year pilot meant to “help to address labour shortages and reduce the administrative
Editor’s Take: Everybody wants to work
Editorial, Op/Ed

Editor’s Take: Everybody wants to work

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Employers — including many agricultural employers — seem to have fallen for the trope that ‘nobody wants to work anymore.’ It’s a handy way to back away from any personal responsibility for the industry’s labour woes and one that conveniently avoids looking in the mirror for the source of the problem. We’ll start by looking
Workers in the JBS beef plant at Brooks, Alta. appear in a screen shot from a 2018 corporate video. (JBS Canada video screengrab via YouTube)

Changes to TFW program to expand worker availability

Workplace LMIAs now valid for 18 months

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The federal government is boosting the availability of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) to ag and other understaffed sectors under a list of policy changes announced Monday. Employment and Workforce Development Minister Carla Qualtrough announced what’s called the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program Workforce Solutions Road Map, which the government said “marks the next step in
Water rolls over a road and into a field after rainstorms lashed British Columbia, triggering landslides and floods, shutting highways, in Abbotsford November 30.
Weather

Mexico seeks to overhaul Canada migrant farm worker program amid climate disasters

B.C. flooding and heat wave have underscored the vulnerability of these workers

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Mexico is pushing for changes to Canada’s migrant farm worker program, a top Mexican official told Reuters, as migrants beset by natural disasters call for better pay, accessible care, labour mobility and employment insurance. Mexico is renegotiating its Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program agreement with Ottawa. The agreement outlines Mexican migrant farm workers’ rights and conditions
Farmer livelihoods will be threatened if weak visa rules allow dodgy operators to mistreat migrant workers.
Comment, Op/Ed

Comment: The perils of temporary labour

Australia’s new agricultural work visa could supercharge the forces of exploitation

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The Australian government’s new temporary visa for agricultural workers is meant to fix labour shortages in the agricultural sector. But it’s a risky approach that could lead to more exploitation of low-skilled farm workers and fewer permanent skilled workers. The agriculture sector is heavily reliant on temporary visa holders for labour, with the two main
Ken Forth, president of Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Services, said the federal government lacked planning by pulling funding to quarantine workers before the end of the growing season.
News, Other

Effect on Manitoba farms uncertain after feds stop funding TFW quarantine costs

Organizations frustrated with apparently arbitrary cut-off, government going back on its word

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Some are frustrated after feds cut funding to help farmers pay for temporary foreign workers (TFWs) to quarantine after arriving in Canada, though Manitoba employers may not know how this affects them until next season. “People found it frustrating because when they initially did this and started the quarantine, their initial statement was that they would support us
Advocacy group concerned TFWs not getting vaccine support
News, Other

Advocacy group concerned TFWs not getting vaccine support

Province has received isolated reports of unsupportive employers, says vaccine medical lead

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A coalition of organizations says it’s concerned many temporary foreign workers (TFWs) in Manitoba haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 despite their increased risk. “I don’t know where and how to ask for it,” says a quote attributed to an international farm worker in Manitoba in a news release from Healthcare For All Manitoba. “My employer
News

Free COVID-19 course for foreign workers, employers

Aim is to acquaint farmworkers with best practices to protect themselves

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Glacier FarmMedia – An online course to help producers and international farmworkers protect themselves from COVID-19 is being launched. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) is offering the free guide in English, French and Spanish. Participants will learn methods of preventing the spread of COVID-19, which has caused deaths and illnesses on Canadian farms

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