The Canadian government has opened up the application process for a pilot program to give temporary foreign workers who work in year-round roles in the agriculture industry a pathway to permanent residency. The three-year Agri-Food Immigration Pilot program, originally announced in July 2019, is aimed at helping employers in meat processing, mushroom and greenhouse production,… Read More
A recently announced wage top-up program could apply to farm and food industry workers, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the $3 billion in funding “to increase the wages of low-income essential workers” late last week, and a press release from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) says that provinces and… Read More
The governments of Canada and Manitoba will be providing a total of $160,000 through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership to Direct Farm Manitoba to purchase a software platform that will allow Manitobans to order food online from local producers and farmers’ markets, the province says. The funding will also go toward the development of a network… Read More
Meat coolers are going to look a lot different as we navigate COVID-19, but according to the Canadian Meat Council, each step of the livestock processing chain is collaborating, communicating, and committed to keeping food moving to grocery stores. Chris White, president and CEO of the Canadian Meat Council, says the livestock processing sector is… Read More
Changes to the Canada Summer Jobs Program as a result of COVID-19 could mean real help for the agriculture sector. Because of social distancing and the closure of non-essential services, several companies will not be hiring students and youth to fill summer jobs. The federal government is in the process of re-allocating those funds into… Read More
Many temporary foreign workers are still in their home countries waiting for the green light (and an available flight) to come to Canada. Once here, the Government of Canada has laid out added measures and precautions for a mandatory 14-day isolation period. There are also new guidelines and rules in relation to seasonal workers, as… Read More
Ontario has launched a web portal connecting workers with employers looking to fill positions in the agri-food sector. The initiative is aimed at matching people to essential jobs and training resources throughout the provincial food supply chain in an effort to ensure grocery store shelves remain full during the COVID-19 outbreak. “Right now, there are… Read More
Each province is feeling the incredible economic hit from COVID-19, but Alberta — with its oil and gas-based economy — may be harder hit than some, as the price of oil has plummeted. There are many Albertans out of work, and many Alberta farm and agriculture businesses looking to fill a gap that seasonal workers… Read More
Update, as of 11pm EDT Friday, March 20: The Canadian government confirmed late Friday that it will be exempting seasonal agricultural workers from the travel restrictions put in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. “The participation of temporary foreign workers on our farms and our food businesses is absolutely necessary,” says Minister of… Read More
Editor’s note: CBC News is reporting that temporary foreign workers will be allowed to enter Canada, but must quarantine for 14 days. RealAgriculture is working to confirm this. As North America adjusts to a “self-isolation” lockdown to limit the spread of COVID-19, farmers are finalizing spring planting and seeding plans. For many farmers and farm… Read More
How do you find and keep great farm help? That’s a question all farmers are wrestling with as labour becomes tougher to find and often equally difficult to retain. With low unemployment rates, it’s tough to keep talent on the farm, says Mark Ferguson, business management specialist for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and… Read More
Starting this month, the Farm Freedom and Safety Act (FFSA) has come into effect. Put in place by the Alberta Government, the Act — known as Bill 26 — is a replacement of Bill 6, introduced by the previous NDP government. In it, there’s changes to current employment, workers compensation coverage (WCB), and occupational health… Read More
Contrary to an oft-quoted statistic, Darrell Bricker says we are not racing to a population of 9 billion by 2050. In fact Bricker, CEO of IPSOS Public Affairs and author of Empty Planet, argues that population dynamics mean Canada needs to think more strategically about attracting new immigrants and finding new export markets. Bricker says… Read More
Farmers will hear much talk of the need for resilience in the years ahead. From weather and markets, to trade, to family and managing day-to-day operations, farmers need to be able to cope with the challenges and setbacks that are routinely part of production agriculture. No one personifies resilience more than Springfield, PEI, dairy farmer… Read More
Terry Betker has worked with farmers to establish peer groups for more than a decade. Traditionally, farmers engage with their peers to share management ideas in informal settings — everywhere from industry meetings to the local coffee shop — but formal peer groups are not common in Canadian agriculture, says Betker, president of Winnipeg-based Backswath… Read More