Growers fear delay in arrival of farm workers from Mexico

Heightened security rules for foreigners coming to work in Canada take effect at end of year

Heightened security provisions for Mexican farm workers could delay their arrival on Okanagan farms next year, fruit growers fear.

Orchardists are concerned vital agricultural work might not get done on time, raising the prospect of significant financial losses.

“If you don’t prune on time, that can cause significant problems later in the year,” BC Fruit Growers’ Association executive director Glen Lucas said Tuesday.

“If things are delayed early in the year, everything just sort of backs up and it’s very hard to catch up,” Lucas said.

Starting Dec. 31, all foreign nationals applying for a study, work or visitor visa to Canada will have to provide biometrics, which includes their fingerprints and photos.

Federal immigration authorities say the new requirement will ensure a more efficient and secure screening process.

But Okanagan farmers — who this year brought about 3,000 Mexicans to work in the Valley — are concerned the new procedures will inevitably result in delays to the processing of the necessary paperwork.

“Consular and industry associations continue to be extremely concerned that the requirement of biometrics for Mexican SAWP (Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program) workers will cause delays in arrivals of workers in 2019,” reads part of a weekly newsletter distributed by the BCFGA.

The BCFGA is urging farmers to submit their application for Mexican farm workers by Nov. 15 to limit the risk of delay.

Federal immigration authorities have said applications received before Dec. 7 should be processed and approved before year’s end, so the biometric information would not be required.

For applications that come in after Dec. 31, the Mexicans will have to make two trips to an office in Mexico City to be fingerprinted and photographed, increasing the likelihood that their arrival in Canada will be delayed.

Once the biometrics provision kicks in, the Mexican processing centre is expected to be capable of handling only about 1,500 applications a week, BCFGA president Pinder Dhaliwal says. “That’s why it’s very important for growers to get their applications in early,” he said. More than 25,000 Mexicans come to Canadian farms each year.

More than 80 per cent of Mexicans who come to Canada through the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program return each year, and the program has expanded considerably in the past few growing seasons.

“Each year, it gets a little bit harder to find enough local workers,” says David Dobernigg, a Vernon-area grower who has not yet accessed the program but might do so in the near future.