Jamaica launched a review of the temporary foreign workers program Canada uses to recruit Jamaicans for farm work and its report says it’s “highly valued by both Jamaicans and Canadians.”
The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA) welcomed the report which found that a large proportion of Jamaican farm workers have a positive view of program and the vast majority of Ontario farm employers using the program are operating within its parameters.
The inquiry found no evidence to support activist claims that the program’s working conditions were akin to systemic slavery.
It was those allegations that triggered Jamaica’s independent investigation last year.
“We recognize there is always more that can be done to ensure all workers have the opportunity for a positive and safe working experience while they help our farms grow fruits and vegetables for the Canadian public,” said Bill George, grape grower and chair of the OFVGA’s labour committee.
“However, the report clearly shows that this can be done with specific targeted measures rather than assigning hateful and broad labels to all the hardworking farmers and their employees in the program.”
The SAWP (Seasonal Agriculture Workers Program) began in 1966 with 264 Jamaican workers who came to Ontario to help with apple harvest.
Now the program is open to workers from Mexico, Jamaica.
They come to Canada to work for a defined period of time before going home for the winter.
Jamaican workers are able to support their families with health care and education, establish farms and businesses and create jobs in their communities back home, said the OFVGA.
Canadian employers rely on the skills and expertise Jamaicans because there is a shortage of labour in the agricultural sector, the OFVGA said.
“Without these workers, many labour-intensive fruit and vegetable crops that Canadians love could no longer be grown here in Ontario,” it said.
“Most importantly, the report highlights the strong sense of pride and self-fulfillment that the Jamaican workers derive from their farm work in Canada,” said George.
“In a world where many people struggle with mental health and with finding a sense of purpose, we need to acknowledge and encourage things capable of elevating people’s pride and self-fulfillment rather than trying to destroy it with harmful labels and negativity.”
In 2021, OFVGA launched the More than a Migrant Worker initiative to give international farm workers a chance to tell their stories, in their own words, of their lives in Canada and why they come here to work.
