Support for Migrant Workers on Farms under Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program and Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program

June 17, 2020

Sent to:

The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 1341 Baseline Road Ottawa, ON K1A 0C5

The Honourable Marco Mendicino
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada 365 Laurier Avenue West Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1L1

 

OPEN LETTER RE: SUPPORT FOR MIGRANT WORKERS ON FARMS UNDER CANADA'S TEMPORARY FOREIGN WORKER PROGRAM AND SEASONAL AGRICULTURE WORKER PROGRAM

Dear Minister Bibeau and Minister Mendicino,

We write to you today following the tragic death of two migrant workers from Mexico in recent weeks in relation to COVID-19 outbreaks on farms in southern Ontario, and with more than 280 additional confirmed cases in the region. As the NDP Critics for Agriculture and Agri-Food and for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, we have deep concerns for the plight of migrant workers on farms under Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program and Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program.

Earlier this week, on June 8th, the Migrant Workers Alliance published a damning report entitled Unheeded Warnings: COVID-19 & Migrant Workers in Canada. This report compiles data from phone calls with 180 migrant workers calling on behalf of 1,162 workers between March 15 and May 15, 2020. The results are alarming. As not all migrant workers may have access to a phone or are in possession of the Migrant Workers Alliance phone number, the report is by no means an exhaustive analysis of the conditions other agricultural migrant workers may be exposed to under the current realities of COVID-19.

Some of the glaring issues identified in the report include:

  • Lack of Permanent Residence status upon landing in Canada makes it impossible for workers to assert their rights: identified as a key factor in workers’ abilities to protect themselves against COVID-19, ask for decent housing and healthcare information.
  • Fear for health being related to fear of lost income: workers not being provided with health cards, and not being provided with healthcare information or who to contact; being prevented from leaving farms; the greatest fear of becoming sick was associated with the fear of lost income and inability to send money home to family.
  • Wage theft: the authors identified $57,369.46 in lost wages in the form of deductions or lost wages; many felt the threat of deportation if they were to raise these concerns. This figure was verified using pay slips, contracts and photographs of receipts.
  • Border closures and delays resulted in lost income and workers were coerced to travel to Canada because no income supports were available: CERB excluded these workers while they waited to come to Canada because they were outside the country; many feared coming to Canada from regions with relatively low cases of COVID- 19 infection.
  • Social-distancing, adequate food, and health information during quarantine: the report authors spoke with 316 migrant workers who were either not paid during the mandatory 14-day quarantine period upon arriving in Canada, had their pay clawed back, or were not compensated for the required 30 hours/week.
  • Housing concerns and limitations on worker mobility: lack of essential supplies, cleanliness issues, cramped quarters, and the presence of animals or pests. 205 workers complained about being unable to leave their employer-provided housing, being unable to send pay to family back home, purchase credit for Canadian telephone cards, or to access food or other basic supplies.
  • Intimidation, surveillance, threats and racism increased over previous years: workers being treated as “disease carriers” even when their region of origin had no COVID-19 outbreaks; private security guards stationed at bunkhouses prohibiting workers from leaving; threats of being arrested by police for failure to follow employer orders, many reported being treated worse than in previous years.
  • Intensification of work, including longer hours and weeks without breaks: 128 workers reported that, to make up lost time due to COVID-19, many have worked for weeks without days off, working longer hours, and have suffered increased strains, injuries and sickness due to increased pace.

We urge you to instruct your respective departments to immediately undertake a review of the existing situation on Canadian farms with respect to migrant workers. It is evident from the volume of complaints this 60-day snapshot put together by the Migrant Workers Alliance that there a need for immediate action. We further urge that you undertake to act on the recommendations as outlined in the report.

The living conditions identified by these workers are simply unacceptable and we look forward to your prompt response, detailing the steps being taken by the Government of Canada to ensure migrant workers who grow the food that supports Canadians – and the world – are treated with dignity, respect and to ensure their health and safety.

Sincerely yours,

Alistair MacGregor, MP Cowichan-Malahat-Langford
NDP Critic for Agriculture and Agri-Food

Jenny Kwan, MP Vancouver East
NDP Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Latest posts

Urgent Action Needed on Strathcona Park and other Homeless Encampments - A Joint Call for Action

Urgent action is needed to address the growing homelessness crisis, yet the federal government continues to drag their feet on this issue.

Numbers don’t lie. BC only got 0.5% of funds from finalized agreements through the National Housing Co-Investment Fund. Only two applications were finalized. It was absolutely shocking to see the numbers. The truth is, though, we already suspected that BC was not getting the kind of resources that we need to support and address our homelessness crisis.

Alberta and Quebec have been shut out of the fund altogether, while Ontario has received 94% of the nearly $1.5 billion so far.

To learn more about these figures, please read Dan Fumano's recent coverage of this important story in the Vancouver Sun.

Applying Biometrics Exemptions during COVID-19 Pandemic

August 7, 2020

Sent to:

Ms. Catrina Tapley
Deputy Minister, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

 

OPEN LETTER RE: APPLYING BIOMETRICS EXEMPTIONS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Dear Deputy Minister Catrina Tapley,

Following the emergency Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) meeting, I am writing to follow up with the issue of delays for individuals to complete their biometrics due to COVID-19. I raised this question directly to your attention during the June 17, 2020 emergency meeting of the CIMM Committee and have also raised this in writing to the Minister.

My office has received a significant amount of email from Vancouver East constituents and from people across the country whose immigration applications have been impeded because they have been unable to complete their biometrics. Given the ongoing impact of COVID-
19, there simply is no timeline or certainty as to when an individual would be able to have their biometrics completed. While I am appreciative of the fact that IRCC has extended the deadline to give biometrics and that IRCC will not close or refuse any application in progress, however, it remains that those unable to obtain their biometrics are in effect simply stuck in the system. This in turn means that their lives are effectively held in limbo.

Cost-sharing Plan with B.C. Provincial and Municipal Government Urgently Needed to Address Homelessness Crisis

July 29, 2020

Sent to: 

The Honourable Ahmed Hussen
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

 

OPEN LETTER RE: COST-SHARING PLAN WITH B.C. PROVINCIAL AND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS URGENTLY NEEDED TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS CRISIS

Minister Hussen,

I am writing urgently with regard to the need for the federal government to commit to working with the non-profits, provincial and municipal governments to address the housing and homelessness crisis, especially in light of a pandemic that has gripped the country and devastated the livelihoods of many Canadians.

The homelessness crisis is not only an affront to human rights, but also poses an enormous national public health risk. This puts the individuals and the communities they live in at risk. Despite the indisputable importance of housing, I am deeply concerned that your government’s National Housing Strategy (NHS) is woefully inadequate.

Based on the response to my order paper question submitted February 4th, 2020, it seems the largest component of the NHS, the National Housing Co-investment Fund (NHCF), has fallen short of expectations. I was shocked to learn that only 23 of 432 of submissions have finalized funding agreements. Even more troubling was the lack of funding outside of Ontario. Among these applications, over 50% of the finalized agreements were from Ontario and over 91% of the $1.47 billion in these agreements went to a single application in the City of Toronto.

Are you ready to take action?

Constituent Resources
Mobile Offices
Contact Jenny

Sign up for updates