As Ottawa redesigns foreign worker programs, 60-year success story offers lessons worth preserving

The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program is a cornerstone of Canada's food system and an economic lifeline for communities across the Caribbean. Growers say the program's proven strengths should not be lost.

By Bill George

Sixty years ago, 264 Jamaican workers arrived in Ontario to help harvest apples.

Few could have predicted that their arrival in 1966 would lay the foundation for one of Canada's longest-running and most successful international labour partnerships. 

Today, more than 30,000 workers from Jamaica, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean travel to Canada each year through the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), helping plant, grow and harvest the fruits and vegetables Canadians depend on.

For participating countries, particularly in the Caribbean, SAWP has become far more than a labour program. Workers' earnings help fund education, healthcare, housing and small businesses while contributing to community and economic development in regions where opportunities can be limited.

As the federal government moves forward with plans to redesign Canada's temporary foreign worker programs, SAWP’s 60^th anniversary is not just the opportunity to celebrate a milestone but also offers an important reminder to policy makers: this program works and should be maintained. 

Over the decades, SAWP has evolved continuously to meet the needs of workers, governments and employers through a structured and respectful annual review process and a commitment by all to continuous improvement. 

One of the program’s defining strengths is its government-to-government structure. Workers are recruited and vetted in their home countries before arriving in Canada and work under audited employment contracts with compensation and benefits that mirror what Canadian workers get.

Workplace issues can often be resolved through collaboration involving employers, workers and liaison or consular representatives from workers' home countries.

The well-being of workers is a top priority for the sector. We do not support employers who mistreat or otherwise take advantage of people in their employ, and we recognize there is always more that can be done to ensure all workers have the opportunity for a positive and safe working experience while they are here. 

The program also includes worker mobility provisions that allow workers to move to another employer when necessary, helping workers maintain employment while addressing labour shortages elsewhere in the sector.

Why does preserving those elements matter? The answer is best understood through the people whose lives have been shaped by the program.

For Jamaican worker Denvil Anderson, who has spent nearly three decades working on Ontario farms, family has always been the motivation. Each year, he leaves behind children and grandchildren to work in Canada, viewing the months apart as a sacrifice that creates opportunities for the people he loves.

Hugh "Q" Simpson has travelled to Ontario since 2008, using his earnings to build a home, support his family and invest in agriculture in his community in Jamaica. And Jamaican Dave Brown credits the program with helping him renovate his house, support his children's education and create greater financial stability for his family.

Their stories, which they’ve had the opportunity to share through the More than a Migrant Worker initiative, are not unusual.

SAWP participants consistently describe the program as a pathway to education, home ownership, entrepreneurship and economic advancement. Many proudly speak about children who have become teachers, nurses, accountants, lawyers and other professionals because of opportunities created through seasonal work in Canada.

"This milestone of celebrating 60 years of SAWP reminds us of the thousands of families who have been transformed through this program," Jamaica's Minister of Labour and Social Security, Pearnel Charles Jr., said during a speech this past winter.

The benefits extend well beyond individual families too. Worker earnings and remittances support local economies and community development, while returning workers bring home agricultural skills, technical knowledge and workplace experience gained on Canadian farms.

"SAWP has seen so many Jamaicans contribute to Canadian agriculture but also be exposed to modern agriculture skills and work ethics that they bring back to Jamaica," Charles said. "When a Canadian farm is successful, the worker is successful."

The program is invaluable to Canada and fruit and vegetable growers too. Growing produce is highly seasonal and labour intensive with many crops requiring large numbers of workers during planting, growing and harvest periods. Despite ongoing recruitment efforts, growers struggle to find enough local labour to fill these jobs.

Without access to seasonal agricultural workers, many farms would be forced to reduce or even stop production, increasing Canada's reliance on imported food.

That reality helps explain why SAWP has endured for six decades. It continues to deliver value for workers, employers, communities and governments on both sides of the partnership.

Public discussions about temporary foreign worker programs often focus on areas requiring improvement, and those conversations are important. But they should not overshadow the fact that SAWP remains one of Canada's most successful examples of international labour cooperation.

The first Jamaican workers who arrived in Ontario 60 years ago helped establish a partnership that supports families and communities here at home and thousands of kilometers away. 

Six decades later, that legacy offers a valuable lesson: when policy works for workers, employers, communities and governments alike, it is worth preserving.

As Ottawa develops the next generation of agricultural labour programs, the goal should not be to replace a successful model but to build upon it. 

To learn more, visit www.morethanamigrantworker.ca. 

Bill George is a Niagara Region grape grower and Chair of the Labour Committee at the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association. The OFVGA is the voice of Ontario’s fruit and vegetable growers on issues affecting the horticulture sector.