QUESTION PERIOD — Agriculture and Agri-Food
Temporary Foreign Workers
June 23, 2020
Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Senator Gold, we’ve all heard about the recent tragic deaths of three migrant agricultural workers in Ontario: Bonifacio Eugenio-Romero, Rogelio Muñoz Santos and Juan Lopez Chaparro. We know the government has imposed strict rules about safety for temporary foreign workers, including the requirement of an isolation period on arrival in Canada, physical distancing rules and the need to wear personal protective equipment.
However, in recent weeks we’ve seen a few major outbreaks at Ontario farms, and now we’ve lost these three men who were fathers, brothers and sons. I’ve heard from people in the agricultural industry and supporters of it who are seized with this issue and who want the agricultural sector to engage in meaningful conversations on the immediate crisis and the improvement to the program going forward. I would add that the government needs to have those conversations as well.
The government has said that they will apply strict sanctions to employers who violate the rules. Yesterday, Minister Qualtrough noted that the government will take other actions. What actions are these and when will they be in place? How will the government work to be proactive rather than reactive to prevent further tragedies?
Thank you for your question. Our office made inquiries upon receiving notice of your question and have not yet received a specific response back on the further actions to which you refer. I will report back to the chamber in a timely fashion.
I would note, colleagues, that provincial governments, of course, which have major responsibilities in this area, are also taking measures to encourage agricultural employers to, first, provide safe working environments for the workers that they bring in, but allow those workers to be tested, for example, by providing mobile testing centres close to the farms.
Thank you for the question.
