Marlon Gay is breathing a little easier today than he was at the beginning of the week.
The Trinidadian working on a farm in Canada received word Dec. 13 he could apply for an open work permit which would ensure he maintained his health and Employment Insurance.
Why it matters: The work visas of temporary foreign workers stuck in Canada were to expire Dec. 15, effectively making them illegally in Canada.
“It’s reassuring. We don’t know how long we’ll be here and we still need to feed our families,” said Gay. “Because we don’t have employment we need some sort of monies to take care of our families and take care of ourselves up here.”
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The Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced Dec. 16 the stranded Trinidad and Tobago (TT) workers are able to apply for an open work permit at no cost to formalize their status.
“(It) will formalize their status and help them get access to health care and Employment Insurance, among other support measures,” said Alexander Cohen, IRCC Press Secretary, in an email.
Six month extension
The open work permit is a six-month extension and with the implied status it will allow applicants to continue receiving health coverage and Employment Insurance, which they pay into, while the application is processed.
“The most important thing is they have access to social services while they’re in Canada . . . and they’re taken care of,” said Cohen. “The second consideration is if they are to remain here in the medium term, that they’re able to get a job.”
Cohen said on the whole the workers would prefer to be flying home and not staying in Canada, however, if anyone gets a job and is happy to stay once May or June rolls around there’s a possibility the work permit could be extended.
Open work permits, unlike the agriculture-based permits, which specify who they can be employed by and where they can work, would allow them to find employment in any sector and work for any employer.
The IRCC and ESDC (Employment and Social Development Canada) continue to work with the stranded workers to get their applications submitted and educate them on which services are available.
The IRCC and Global Affairs Canada are also working with authorities in Trinidad and Tobago to see if a workaround can be found to deal with the quarantine space limitations, said Cohen.
“We will continue to do all that we can to support these workers until they can get home,” he said.
Farmers can have worker expenses subsidized
Ernie Hardeman, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced the launch of a targeted special funding category under the federal-provincial Enhanced Agri-Food Workplace Protection Program to help cover the incremental costs incurred to ensure the health and safety of stranded temporary foreign workers.
“Eligible expenses would include accommodations, meals, winter clothing, heaters, equipment, PPE, cleaning supplies, communications, and transportation costs,” said Hardeman. “Following the extension of their immigration statuses by the federal government, we have also extended OHIP coverage to assist these workers.”
Hardeman said international workers were key players in growing and harvesting Ontario’s food and keeping the supply chain strong throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dusty Zamecnik, E Z Grow Farms Ltd., said he’s happy to see the federal and provincial governments coming to aid the workers because there has been little assistance from Trinidad and Tobago.
“Trinidad left them out to frickin dry,” said Zamecnik. “We’ve come to find out that all of the information and letters and whatnot we’ve sent through (for exemptions) – nobody has any idea where that information is.”
Missing papers
Gay and fellow colleague Neil Phillip’s wives have begun the process of applying for their exemptions as individuals instead of the bulk submissions the farms applied for.
Zamecnik said when the women filed papers 10 days ago, the Trinidad and Tobago government could not find the status of the letters or information he’d sent in months ago.
“It just continues to be perplexing,” he said. “Why can’t these guys get on flights when flights are flying to Trinidad? That’s the biggest thing.”
Zamecnik said he appreciates the effort of the federal government to find a solution to get the workers home and the provincial government’s financial support, but the issue goes deeper.
“It’s important for all the workers to be able to get home, see their families and have that mental reset,” he said. “I hope the pressure continues to lay on to get some clarity as to what is the exemption letter process and is the bottleneck quarantine?”
If there are only a limited number of quarantine-designated sites for quarantine, said Zamecnik, how can the workers find out if and where they stand in the queue?
“If we know we’re in the queue, fantastic. That’s alright,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing – what’s the queue like and where is the bottleneck.”
Cohen said Trinidad and Tobago is letting approximately 100 people repatriate every two weeks, largely because the quarantine facilities are full.
Gay said one of the hardest things to watch was one of their colleagues pack up and head home three days before their permits expired, knowing they wouldn’t likely be home anytime soon.
“One guy from our farm was lucky enough to be on a flight home. He said there were only seven or eight farm workers on that flight,” said Gay, a flight that was half empty.
Gay doesn’t understand how they were all able to fly to Canada on packed flights with no COVID-19 test, yet the government can’t fill a plane carrying citizens with negative COVID-19 tests in order to repatriate them.
As time ticks down to a new year some of the men have given up hope of getting home this year, or have decided to stay in fears they wouldn’t be able to return for the upcoming season. Effectively decimating the family’s yearly income.
Others, like Gay, are holding out for a miracle.
“I haven’t given up as of yet. I know I won’t be home for Christmas – I’m not thinking about it anymore,” he said.
He said there are two flights scheduled to leave Canada, one on Dec. 22 and one on the 26. He’s hoping he can make it on to one of them.
“I just want to be home at this stage,” he said.
Hardeman said Ministry staff will contact eligible farmers with more details, however, farmers can contact the Agricultural Information Contact Centre for more information at 1-877-424-1300 or [email protected].
