BC farms shouldn't be impacted by pause on Mexican farm workers

Photo: The Canadian Press

Temporary foreign workers from Mexico plant strawberries on a farm in Mirabel, Que., on May 6, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada and around the world. The government of Mexico won't send any more temporary foreign workers to Canada until it has more clarity on why two died due to COVID-19.

UPDATE 6:50 p.m.

The BC Fruit Growers Association says it appears B.C. will continue to be able to receive temporary farm workers from Mexico, despite an announcement from the country’s ambassador Monday that said otherwise. 

BCFGA general manager Glen Lucas said he has received clarification from Mexico’s consulate in Vancouver that the pause on workers coming to Canada only applies to farms not following COVID-19 guidelines. 

In B.C., those guidelines are being actively enforced by the provincial government, which is supplying a centralized quarantine centre in Vancouver where all foreign workers are isolating for two weeks after arriving in B.C.

Before the workers leave quarantine, the grower must complete a checklist of COVID-19 guidelines, which is then followed up upon by an inspector.

That differs from Ontario, where COVID-19 guidelines are not being uniformly followed or enforced, leading to an outbreak and deaths among workers and concerns from Mexico.

“We were in a bit of limbo there for a couple hours, wondering what was going on,” Lucas said Monday evening, adding the Mexican consulate has voiced appreciation for BC’s current system. 

He says he is confident that workers from Mexico will continue to arrive in B.C. as planned.

Lucas said, however, questions remain about what happens if workers get sick on the farm.

"Growers or the worker will certainly call 811 to determine what to do if they have any symptoms, but if isolation is required, we would like to have more help from the province and Interior Health to find appropriate isolation facilities," he said.

"The need for a regional isolation plan also applies to the backpackers from Quebec — at this time Interior Health and the province have not risen to the challenge of helping the many small growers and individual workers. This could be easily resolved with some leadership from the BC Ministry of Agriculture," Lucas continued. 

ORIGINAL 2:45 p.m.

Mexico won't send any more temporary foreign workers to Canada until it has more clarity on why two died due to COVID-19, the country's ambassador to Canada said Monday.

That means as many as 5,000 temporary foreign workers expected to arrive in Canada in the coming months are being held back, for now.

"It's so we can reassess with the federal authorities, provinces and farmers why this happened and if there is anything to correct," Juan Jose Gomez Camacho said in an interview.

The two men — one died this month and the other in late May — were employed by different farms in the Windsor, Ont., area, a farming heartland in southwestern Ontario that has seen ongoing outbreaks.

The B.C. Fruit Growers Association says it learned of the announcement through the news media and is working to gather details on how it could impact growers in B.C.

The outbreaks were cited Monday as the reason Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the region can't follow in the footsteps of others and loosen restrictions designed to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Ford was quick to say people shouldn't blame the workers.

"They came here, they self-isolated for two weeks and they picked it up since they've been here," he said.

"So I don't want any finger pointing at these hard-working migrant workers. They're good people, they mean well, and they're hard workers too."

Gomez Camacho said across Canada, 300 Mexicans are believed to have been infected with the novel coronavirus.

His government needs assurances that the situation can be brought under control, he said, before allowing more workers to arrive.

He said agriculture firms reporting outbreaks are even asking Mexico to keep sending people, and "that will not happen."

But he said the pause is intended to be temporary, respecting the fact that farmers often need workers at specific times, and the government isn't trying to spoil that.

"We are pausing this quickly now to understand," he said.

The decision to hit pause is a further blow to the agriculture industry which has been struggling to find enough labour to handle this year's planting and harvest season, due in large part to the travel restrictions in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Mexicans make up about half of the temporary foreign worker population employed in the agriculture sector, which in 2018 meant there were 25,060 people employed on farms, in greenhouses and other related jobs.

The dizzying array of government departments charged with ensuring workers are being treated well is difficult to navigate at the best of times, and COVID-19 threw up even more challenges, Gomez Camacho said.

But he commended the Canadian government for making what he called a "tremendous" effort to put protections in place to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Programs have been implemented at both federal and provincial levels to assist temporary foreign workers since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. They include money to cover the costs of mandatory isolation requirements as well as the purchase of personal protective equipment.

Gomez Camacho said the Mexican government worked with Canadian officials to design some of those supports, including a provision that workers be paid while they were in isolation upon arriving in Canada.

The vast majority of firms are complying, he said.

"But we also know, we have always known, some will not," he said.

On his government's part, they also put in a place a program this year that saw only workers who were requested by name by Canada's farms and greenhouses allowed to travel here.

He said many workers are connected to small family farms, and have developed relationships over time.

The pause on allowing more to arrive is a nod to that relationship, he said.

"We are doing this out of solidarity with Canada," he said. "We understand the role these workers play in your food chain."

Gomez Camacho said one bright light of the COVID-19 crisis is that Canadians seem to be understanding that as well.

He said the embassy and consulates have fielded calls from Canadians thanking Mexicans for their efforts, and supporting calls for better safeguards on their work.

He said he believes that could be a permanent change in attitude, and will keep working to make it that way.

The Canadian Press