Permanent residence pilot scheme for agri-food workers

Permanent residence pilot scheme for agri-food workers

By Ysh Cabana
The Philippine Reporter

Canada launched a new three-year program that will give some migrant farm workers the opportunity to become permanent residents.

The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot is intended to help fill labour shortage in the agri-food sector starting in 2020.

Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said the pilot aims to bring experienced, non-seasonal migrant farm workers to work year-round, full time and part time, by providing permanent residency  following an initial two-year stint on a temporary work permit, instead of renewing their work permits repeatedly.

“This pilot is another example of how immigration is helping to grow local economies and creating jobs for Canadians,” said Hussen in a July 12 release.

Eligibility

Specifically, the pilot will focus on attracting retail butchers, industrial butchers, food processing labourers, harvesting labourers, general farm workers and farm supervisors.

A maximum of 2,750 principal applicants, plus family members, will be accepted for processing in any given year, according to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Approximately 16,500 possible new residents will be accepted over the three-year program.

Applicants must have 12 months of full-time experience in those areas, enough English or French proficiency to take part in short everyday conversations, a high school education and a job offer to be eligible for permanent residence. If and when approved, applicants will also be allowed to bring their families to Canada.

Currently, migrant farm workers who come to Canada through the program for seasonal agricultural workers are only given limited-term work permits and do not have a pathway to permanent residency.

Food Policy for Canada initiatives

The pilot is part of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada’s “Food Policy for Canada initiatives” in collaboration with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).

Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food said the policy is Canada’s first-ever long-term vision for food in this country.

“The Food Policy for Canada is our roadmap for a healthier and more sustainable food system for our country. The investments and initiatives in the food policy will contribute to economic growth, better nutrition and food security for all Canadians.” said Bibeau in an earlier June press release.

Research conducted by the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) shows a critical gap between the demand for workers and the supply of available Canadian workers. This gap has doubled in the past 10 years to approximately 60,000 workers. By 2029, the farm labour deficit is expected to grow to 123,000 workers or one in three jobs

The job vacancy rate for the industry is higher than any other industry in Canada, at 7%. These vacancies result in $1.5 billion in lost sales for the farm operators every year.

The struggle to find workers locally means farm operators rely heavily on foreign labour, brought into the country though various streams of the Temporary Foreign Worker program, particularly the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP).

While SAWP only applies to migrant workers from Mexico and the Caribbean, other workers come from countries such as Guatemala, the Philippines and Thailand through other streams of Canada’s guest-worker program, including those coming to fill low-wage, so-called “low-skill” jobs.

Permanent status upon arrival

Chris Ramsaroop, spokesperson for the group Justice for Migrant Workers or Justicia, said the access to permanent residency will only apply to those who take part in this narrow pilot program and will continue to be unavailable to the thousands of migrant farm workers who arrive through SAWP.

“We’re dividing agricultural workers based on which industries are more deserving than others,” he said, noting migrant workers who have already been working in Canada in meat production or mushroom plants will have easier access to this program than fruit- or vegetable-farm workers.

Ramsaroop says migrant groups continue to call on the government to offer all temporary foreign workers permanent status upon arrival in Canada.