While regulations to protect agricultural workers from the heat have been held up by political wrangling, Gonzalo and her colleagues have spearheaded an alternate strategy. They seek to sidestep the slow and increasingly politicized government machinery and instead appeal directly to consumers and large brands.
Tag Archives farm workers
Farmworkers in the US cultivate their own heat safety standards
Fair Food Program seeks to circumvent slow regulatory process
Feds plan to ease Underused Housing Tax reporting load
New exemption also proposed for employee housing outside cities
Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s latest Fall Economic Statement offers to take some of the reporting burden off certain farmers and other Canadians when filing for exemptions from the national Underused Housing Tax (UHT). The federal finance department on Nov. 16 posted its legislative and regulatory proposals for changes to the UHT online and has […] Read more
Survey to look at farm stress from Alberta angle
Study to explore farmers' levels of resilience against stress
Researchers from the University of Alberta and AgKnow, the province’s farmer mental health network, are looking to build up Alberta-specific data on farming stress, mental health and well-being, and the ways in which farmers cope. They study team is “looking for farmers, ranchers, or anyone who works or lives on a farm” to participate, researchers […] Read more
Ontario police charge seven with trafficking, exploiting migrants
Workers provided for farms and other sites, police say
Toronto | Reuters — Ontario’s York Regional Police have charged seven people with trafficking and exploiting 64 Mexican migrants, saying the accused were part of an international labour trafficking ring operating in the Toronto region. Police in Ontario said on Friday they had obtained information in November that migrant men and women were being exploited […] Read more
Suspect in California farm worker shootings appears in court
Early evidence suggests workplace grievance, authorities say
Redwood City, Calif. | Reuters — A California farm worker accused of shooting seven people to death near San Francisco, some of them his co-workers, made his first court appearance on Wednesday after he was charged with murder in the state’s second deadly gun rampage in recent days. Chunli Zhao, 66, the lone suspect in […] Read more
PM asks federal ag minister to focus on labour
Mandate letter outlines prime minister’s goals for the sector, but critics wanted to see more
Glacier FarmMedia – Federal Agriculture and Agri-food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau says an agricultural labour strategy will be released in phases as Ottawa tackles issues around temporary foreign and domestic workers. Her new mandate letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said developing a strategy should be her immediate priority. Bibeau said in an interview that work […] Read more
Audit finds Canada failing migrant farmworkers on COVID-19, housing inspections
Toronto | Reuters — As the COVID-19 pandemic raged, federal government inspectors frequently deemed the employers of migrant workers compliant with health and safety rules despite a lack of evidence, according to an Auditor General report released Thursday. While Canadian provinces and territories set housing standards, the federal government is responsible for ensuring tens of […] Read more
Province expands eligibility under workplace protection program
Deadline extended to February 2022 to offset costs related to COVID-19
The Ontario government has made changes to the Enhanced Agri-food Workplace Protection Program (EAWPP) that are expected to increase uptake by farmers. Eligible costs have expanded and the application deadline has been extended. “The health and wellbeing of the workforce in the agri-food sector is, and always has been, a priority for our government,” said […] Read more
Quebec to reduce onus for farm workers seeking workers’ comp for Parkinson’s
Amended rule would grant 'presumption' for pesticide exposure
Some Quebec farmers and farm workers with Parkinson’s disease may soon have an easier path to seek workers’ compensation — if they can show at least a certain amount of exposure to pesticides. Provincial Labour Minister Jean Boulet on Tuesday tabled an amendment to bill 59, draft legislation that includes updates to Quebec’s workplace health […] Read more
Attracting the next generation of workers
Workers new to a job are three times more likely to be injured during the first month on the job compared to experienced workers. The statistic, across all sectors of the economy, is staggering and points to the need for adequate training. The Ontario agri-food sector, with a diverse range of career opportunities, struggles to […] Read more
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