Fruit, veggie growers embrace worker report

Ontario’s fruit and vegetable growers are welcoming the senate report on temporary foreign workers, despite its outspoken criticism about how the workers are treated.

One of the key recommendations of the committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology is that a new commission ought to be established as a one-stop place to deal with issues related to temporary foreign workers, cutting through the maze of different federal and provincial government departments with policies related to the program.

“The proposed commission with centralized services is in line with what fruit and vegetable growers have long been asking for – the creation of a one-stop shop for more efficient delivery of TFW  (temporary foreign worker) services for both employers and workers,” said Bill George, chairman of the Labour Committee at the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association

“Mistreatment of workers is unacceptable and as an industry, we have long been committed to the continuous improvement of Canada’s temporary foreign worker programs to ensure all workers have the opportunity for a positive, safe work experience while in Canada,” he said.

                           

 

 

Farmers tight-fisted employers

 The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council has found that many farmers are stingy with wages for employees.

The council surveyed 609 employees across 140 organizations and found the median wage for ranged from $18 to $28.00 per hour with grain farmers paying the most and dairy farmers and beekeepers only $20.

Median is the wage point at which the number making less equals those making more.

“The median for farm managers ranged from $30 to $39.90. Grain & oilseed paid the highest weighted average and median for farm managers,” the report stated. “Dairy paid the lowest farm manager wage across all industries by an estimated $4 an hour.”

General farm labourers, the lowest paid category overall, again received the highest median pay in the grain & oilseed sector ($21.67 per hour) while apiculture paid the least ($16.50 per hour).

The low wages in dairy and apiculture weren’t necessarily offset by non-monetary compensation such as health and dental plans, the survey found.

While more than half of organizations surveyed indicate they offer these, dairy more than 70 per cent of dairy businesses did.

The most common benefit was training and development, at 87 per cent of employers.

The council said its study can provide farmers with a better understanding of compensation practices so they can build better relationships with their employees.

“Providing essential compensation data resources to all industry producers is a critical step to attracting top talent, retaining current experienced talent and bettering careers in the agriculture industry,” the study said. 

“Rethinking the standard approaches of how employees are compensated and supported through benefits can serve to improve the current agriculture labour market shortages.

                          

 

 

 

Another Enoki mushroom recall

 

Meta brand Enoki mushrooms are under recall.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency detected Listeria monocytogenes food-poisoning bacteria in a batch distributed in Ontario.

It has had no reports of illnesses

Senate committee slams foreign worker program

A Senate committee has issued a report that slams the 50-year-old temporary foreign workers program.

While one senator conceded that many employers treat the workers well, she said that others treat them like slaves.

 Senator Ratna Omidvar, chair of the committee that prepared the report, said the program needs immediate changes.

It recommends a three-person commission to regularly review the program, one to represent the workers, another to represent the employers and the third the federal government.

The commission would gather data, issue an annual report to parliament, consult with provincial and municipal officials and serve as a single point of contact and response to reports of abuse and/or mistreatment.

Omidvar said migrant labour administration is an “alphabet soup of departments, agencies and organizations sending inspectors and inspections” to enforce various and overlapping compliance and enforcement regimes. 

 

She said not one witness could identify a particular organization or body responsible for ensuring standards were met. 

It calls for an end within three years to permits that are tied to a single employer and for consultations about changing the permits to regional ones and related to a specific industry such as farming or meat-packing.

 

It recommends changes that would make it easier for workers to achieve Permanent Residence Status, the first step towards becoming a Canadian citizen.

 

The report wants to “increase funding to the Migrant Workers Support Program and existing grassroots organizations to support dedicated services across the country to help migrant workers navigate Canadian bureaucracy before, during and after their stay, including accessing health care, social supports like Employment Insurance, and immigration needs.”

 

It wants the program to provide more pre- and on-arrival information about migrant workers’ rights to access health care, including what the employer is required to provide, how to access interim private health insurance, if required, and how to apply for provincial or territorial coverage and calls for a number of other changes to ensure workers have access to health care.

The executive summary of the report begins by saying “It is clear that the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is neither temporary nor a last and limited resort. The program is not working for migrant workers and could work better for employers.”

                           

 

 

 

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Avian flu in three Michigan dairy herds

 

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) announced positive tests for highly-pathogenic avian influenza in dairy cows in Clinton, Gratiot and Ionia counties.

The department is urging farmers to practice enhanced biosecurity, regardless of species.

The advice includes isolating new or returning animals on farms, monitoring the health of animals daily, and cleaning and disinfecting trailers used to haul animals.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently said it will provide $98 million to help states and ranchers keep the virus from spreading.

State and federal officials continue to monitor cases in 42 herds.

Beyond efforts on farms, U.S. senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, and senators Amy Klobachar, a Democragt from Minnesota, and John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, sent a joint letter to the USDA, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calling for “interagency coordination” to provide “up-to-date, accurate information on the spread of HPAI, particularly 

Wine area to expand

The Ontario Wine Appellation Authority is proposing a new regional appellation named "West Niagara".

It would involve amending boundaries of the existing Niagara Escarpment regional appellation to include St. David's Bench. 

"West Niagara" would include the Niagara sub-appellations Beamsville Bench, Creek Shores, Lincoln Lakeshore, Short Hills Bench, Twenty Mile Bench and Vinemount Ridge.

The new "Niagara West" regional appellation would encompass all sub-appellations west of St. Catharines. 

This is consistent with the existing regional appellation "Niagara-on- the-Lake" that encompasses all sub-appellations east of St. Catharines. 

The change brings names in line with the physical boundaries of the escarpment.

These changes will make the Niagara appellation framework similar for the east and west areas of Niagara and more consistent with consumer perceptions, tourism and marketing conventions linked to regional travel, the authority said.

The authority also wants to add Frontenac Noir, Frontenac Gris and Frontenac Blanc to the list of approved hybrid grape varieties that can be used on labels.

As well, the grape variety Hibernal would be moved to the list of hybrid varieties permitted to be used in varietally-labelled hybrid wines. 

Bee keepers given $1 million

The federal and Ontario governmeents are adding $1 million to the Honey Bee Health Initiative to help improve the resiliency and competitiveness of beekeeper operations in Ontario. 

The additional funding will used to better protect colonies over the winter and protect against invasive pests such as varroa mites.

“So many of the crops grown across Ontario depend on healthy bee populations,” said federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay.

The Honey Bee Health Initiative opened on September 15, 2023, with a budget of more than $1.3 million. To date, 218 projects have been approved. 

“Honey bees play an important role in our agriculture and food industry as well as in Ontario’s ecosystem”, said Ontario Agriculture  Minister Lisa Thompson.

This program is delivered by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA).

“Ontario’s beekeepers and the honey bee industry are integral parts of Ontario’s food supply and food security,” said Ian Grant, president of the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association.

He welcomed the support.