Politic?

40,000 Migrant Farm Workers in Canada

"Sixteen workers reported receiving only one loaf of bread and a carton of eggs to feed them all for two days."
"One group of nine workers called us about being placed in a house where dogs had been living, that smelled of dog urine and had not been cleaned prior to the workers' arrival."
"Many migrant workers report that employers are using COVID-19 to further clamp down on basic worker freedoms, breaking down support systems and social networks, and targeting outspoken workers by ensuring they remain confined to workplaces and bunkhouses."
"Complaints about threats were disproportionately higher for Caribbean workers who are largely Black men."
"Workers also reported increased racism from employers, local shops, and some community members who treat them as if they are 'disease carriers' -- even in cases where workers arrived before COVID-19 hit."
Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC) report

"The reported cases of inappropriate behaviours and unsafe working conditions are completely unacceptable."
"[Government has pledged $50 million to farmers to aid with costs of housing and paying workers for 30 hours weekly during the mandatory two-week quarantine upon arrival in Canada]."
Employment and Workforce Development Ministry

"[Bad players in the industry] should be brought to justice. [The] vast majority [of farmers treat migrant workers with decency]."
"We would love to understand who is abusing the system, if these allegations are true, because we rely on this system. All of Canada relies on this system."
"It's a very low water mark they're setting. We all get painted by the same brush."
Mary Robinson, president, Canadian Federation of Labour

People hold up signs during a demonstration outside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's constituency office in Montreal on Saturday, where they called on the government to give residency status to migrant workers as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada and around the world. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)

Accusations of unsafe living and working conditions exacerbated by COVID-9 outbreaks on farms in Ontario are being brought to public notice. A report summarizing complaints made to a tip line operated by Migrant Workers Alliance for Change by workers from Mexico and the Caribbean on suffering incidents of racism, threats, surveillance, poor access to food, along with 40 people in a dorm reported to be sharing one shower in one case, have shocked the public.

The federal government department overseeing the annual program to bring in 40,000 seasonal farm workers emphasized they have provided funding to relieve the burden on farm owners of accommodating a work force that had to first face sequestration for a period of unproductivity, absolving them of any other responsibility in overseeing the working conditions of temporary farm workers. The complaints, if proven accurate, are demonstrably unacceptable.

Michel Perreault strawberry farm, Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse. (Julia Page/CBC)

There had occurred a series of outbreaks recently of the novel coronavirus on Ontario farms resulting in hundreds among the thousands of migrant workers testing positive for COVID-19. Sadly, two migrant workers identified as Bonifacio Eugenio Romero and Rogelio Munoz Santos from Mexico, died from the effects of the disease. Two other migrant workers remain in intensive care, according to MWAC. "The employer was not interested in our well-being, only in the work we do for him" stated a Mexican farm worker.

Some workers reporting discrepancies to MWAC, reported not having received full quarantine pay. Which represents 'earnings' promised while they are in quarantine status, unable to work, and which is used by the workers to send financial aid in remittances back home to support their families. Other workers reported not having been given enough food to sustain them during the two-week quarantine period. Clearly, if true, their human rights are being abridged, ostensibly by a minority of farm owners.

Employee entrance, Smith Gardens, East Gwillimbury. (Beth Macdonell/CTV News)

A group of workers in another complaint explained they had reported issues with their food to a federal government helpline, upon which government officials responded by contacting the employer to correct the situation. The complaint states that the employer reacted by threatening the workers should they complain again. The report emphasized that many workers are fearful of complaining about working conditions in the face of threats from employers, fearing deportation and the loss of wages for the season.

The MWAC tip line, it was revealed, received about 180 calls between mid-March and mid-May, representing 1,162 workers. Some of the workers complained that private security guards were stationed outside their bunkhouses. Others reported threats on the part of their employer that they would be reported to police should they fail to comply with instructions. According to industry and advocacy groups recent farm virus outbreaks have spread from local communities, not from incoming migrant workers.

A solution to many of the problems, according to MWAC would be for a national housing standard to be imposed, with permanent residency status granted to all migrant labourers which would position them to refuse to work in unsafe conditions, free of the fear of being sent back to their countries of origin. Those significant changes, along with snap inspections of any farms with reported COVID outbreaks to have farms shut down until cleared by health authorities to reopen, would mitigate the problems.

The report issued a list of problems to be cleared:

Workers who could not physically distance during the mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arrival in Canada.
Lack of access to health care and information.
Unfair wage and meal cost clawbacks.
Crowded housing conditions after quarantine without essential sanitization.
Lost income because of border closures and extended travel times.
Lack of ability to send remittances (payments) to family at home.