Fruit growers sour to added foreign labour rules
New provincial rules intended to offer more protection to foreign workers duplicate much of what already exists, Okanagan farmers say.
Orchardists who bring in Mexican or Caribbean farmhands must join a provincial registry by Dec. 15, the government says.
“There’s already at least four or five provincial agencies or departments who are involved in the seasonal workers program,” Glen Lucas, executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association, said Monday.
“The paperwork and the bureaucracy, it’s almost overwhelming already for growers, so naturally they’re not really enthusiastic about this new registry. But it seems to be a priority with the Minister of Labour, so of course growers will comply.”
Thousands of foreign farmhands come to the Okanagan each year to fill a variety of agricultural positions for which no Canadian workers can be found.
The federally run Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program has existed for decades.
Before the Oct. 24 provincial election was announced Monday, the NDP government said it would create a new provincial registry for all employers who want to hire foreign workers.
Along with farmhands, it will also cover foreigners who are hired as home child-care providers or home support workers.
“Our government is committed to ensuring that regardless of your immigration status, if you’re working in B.C., your rights and protections are the same as any worker,” Labour Minister Harry Bains said in a governmentissued release.
“These important protections for vulnerable workers in our province are long overdue and will ensure they are not taken advantage of.”
The registry is intended to ensure that foreigners who come to B.C. are properly paid for the hours they work, have a job description that matches the work they prefer, and ensures their employment rights are protected.
“Temporary foreign workers are integral to our agricultural sector and B.C. relies on them for important jobs like harvesting the crops we depend on for our daily meals and to build our province's food security,” Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said in the release.
The registry will allow the provincial government to identify which B.C. farmers bring in foreign workers, and will enable the inspection of worksites and enforcement of relevant labour laws, the government says.
The longstanding program that allows Okanagan farmers to recruit foreign farmhands already has the involvement of WorkSafeBC, BC Housing, the Employment Standards Branch and Interior Health, Lucas said.
When complaints about the way foreign workers are treated in Canada arise, foreign governments can also get involved, as the Mexican government did earlier this year when it temporarily suspended its participation in the program because of poor housing conditions on some Ontario farms.