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 […] Read more
Tag Archives temporary foreign worker
Pilot plan to cut red tape for reliable TFW employers
Farm employers can apply starting next month
Vegetable group lobbies for TFW quarantine fund
Quarantine requirements have added significant costs to farm operations
Temporary Foreign Worker quarantine costs continue to climb while federal support programs wind down, leaving farmers on the financial hook. “This is costing midsize family farms anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 to $150,000 and upwards of that for the real large producers,” said Bill George, Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (OFVGA) chair. “There is […] Read more
Grain, seed corn growers get access to seasonal worker program
Maple syrup also added to national commodity list
Growers of grains, oilseeds and seed corn and maple syrup producers may be able to get in on the federal Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) for the 2021 season. Federal Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough announced Nov. 27 the national commodity list (NCL) would be expanded to include seed corn, oil seed, grains and maple syrup […] Read more
Foreign worker isolation support extended
Federal program extended alongside federal restrictions
The federal program helping employers of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) cover the costs of isolating new workers for two weeks on their arrival in Canada has been extended through November. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced Monday that the Mandatory Isolation Support for Temporary Foreign Workers Program will now run to Nov. 30, as the government […] Read more
TFW program to be overhauled after COVID-19 outbreaks on farms
"The piece that's missing is enforcement"
Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada is overhauling its temporary foreign worker program, a government spokeswoman said on Friday, after coronavirus outbreaks on Ontario farms sickened hundreds and led Mexico to demand assurances of proper safeguards. As part of the review, surprise inspections of working and living conditions on farms will immediately increase, Ashley Michnowski, communications […] Read more
Laid-off foreign workers may get conditional clearance for other jobs
Workers allowed to start new jobs while permits are processed
Approved temporary foreign workers (TFWs) whose jobs disappeared before they could begin work in Canada this spring can now get much quicker approval to start at other workplaces, including farms, where the workers are needed. The federal government said Tuesday it will, effective “immediately,” temporarily waive its rule requiring a TFW to receive federal approval […] Read more
New Brunswick ag groups rip province’s ban on foreign workers
Risk during pandemic 'simply too great,' premier says
New Brunswick farmers who employ temporary foreign workers (TFWs) are calling for the provincial government to reverse its new COVID-19-related ban on entry of TFWs who haven’t yet arrived. The provincial government on Tuesday updated a mandatory order under its pandemic state of emergency to restrict TFWs from entering the province. The new restriction doesn’t […] Read more
Opinion: Keeping up in a fast-moving COVID-19 world
Foreign worker confusion shows the speed things are changing
It is difficult to write something timely about a situation that unfolds by the moment, as a glimpse into how matters have evolved in Ottawa over the past few days surely shows. The true impact of COVID-19 won’t be known for some time, especially because there is no clear indication as to how long the […] Read more
Foreign workers leave families behind, but also see opportunity
More workers from other countries are filling empty farming roles, including on hog farms
Farmtario will continue to check in with Helen Espinola as she settles into her two-year work term in Canada. Helen Espinola left behind her husband and two children in the Philippines to work on a hog barn on the norther border of Huron County. She’s a farrowing room technician who says she loves working with […] Read more
Farm labour shortage seen costing billions, expected to rise
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s farm labour deficit is expected to double by 2029 to 123,000 workers, or one in three jobs, as shortages continue to hit the sector’s bottom line, the Canadian Agriculture Human Resource Council said on Tuesday. Farmers in Canada have long reported challenges in recruiting farm workers because the rural-based work […] Read more
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