CIMM - Seasonal Agricultural Workers in Canada: Pathways to Permanent Residency - Nov 25, 2020

Key messages

• The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of supporting the agri-food sector, as it protects the food security for Canadians and the success of Canadian producers.
• The Government introduced several measures to help temporary foreign workers affected by the disruption in services and travel due to the pandemic, including those working in the agriculture sector. This included prioritizing their work permit applications and exempting them from having to provide biometrics prior to coming to Canada.
• Facilitating the transition of temporary workers to permanent residence also continues to be a strong and growing feature of Canada’s immigration system. Transition to permanent residency isn’t automatic, though – work permit holders can apply for it through any program they are eligible for.
• The Government launched the Agri-Food Pilot on May 15, 2020, a three-year pilot that tests an industry-specific approach to help address labour shortages in the Canadian agri-food sector. In addition, the provinces and territories can also leverage the Provincial Nominee Program to create streams and nominate foreign workers to meet local labour market and economic needs.
• The Department continues to work with our provincial and territorial partners to coordinate efforts related to addressing agriculture labour challenges across the country, including complexities associated with provincial and territorial public health measures.

Supplementary messages

• Temporary foreign workers coming to Canada at this time are typically filling positions in industries that are critical to Canada’s economy, including food security.
• During Canada’s planting and harvesting seasons – which take place between the months of April and October – we took steps to ensure the proper health protocols were in place here in Canada to protect workers and Canadians.
• The Government of Canada continues to work alongside provinces, territories and industries to ensure that proper protocols are in place to keep all workers safe, and we continue to adjust these measures as more is known.
• Together with employers and local health authorities, we will continue to ensure that our farms and processing facilities are kept safe for employees and employers alike.

Prioritization of work permit processing for agriculture workers

• The Government has put in place facilitation measures for temporary foreign workers that are deemed essential during the pandemic which include agricultural and agri-food workers.
• These measures ensured that despite a reduced overall processing capacity, applications for these occupations continue to be prioritized and processed in a timely manner.
• As Mexico represents a significant source of agricultural workers, Canada continues to engage with Mexican officials to support efforts to increase the availability of workers ready to come to Canada.
• In recognition of this important relationship, the Government of Canada established a new contact group to collaboratively respond to COVID-19 outbreaks, focusing on sharing protocols for the management of outbreaks and assessing employer readiness to receiving new workers.
• This group works with Mexican officials to support emerging outbreaks and program gaps that will focus on ensuring that the health and safety of workers is safeguarded, that Mexican workers are supported in accessing available federal or income support benefits, and to ensure that Mexico’s perspectives are taken into account in the development of communications approaches concerning COVID-19 outbreaks affecting Mexican foreign workers.
• The inaugural meeting of this group took place June 25, and a total of six meetings have taken place to date. The last meeting, on September 25, 2020, focused on Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program work permit applications processing for 2021, and worker confinement and quarantine (i.e. rules/protocols and workers’ rights). Efforts are now shifting toward a reflection on lessons learned to inform planning for next season and potentially other similar emergency events.
• Measures have been put in place to ensure the arrival of agricultural workers to Canada is not delayed, such as an exemption from the requirement to provide biometrics where enrolment is not possible due to travel restrictions or visa application centre closures. However, biometrics may be collected on a case-by-case basis on arrival in Canada.

Regulatory changes on employer compliance

• To ensure the health and safety of Canadians, regulatory changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations were made to include conditions requiring compliance with the Quarantine Act order for temporary residents, which came into effect on April 20, 2020.
• The amendments require temporary residents to comply with Quarantine Act requirements. These new regulations also require that employers do not take any action that could prevent a worker from meeting their obligation to quarantine or isolate upon entry to Canada, and to pay wages to foreign workers during the 14 days reserved for quarantine upon entry.
• For Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program workers entering Canada supported by a labour market impact assessment, their employers must provide accommodations in addition to wages.
• Along with these changes, amendments were also made to the employer compliance regime to allow for inspections of employers who have temporary foreign workers who are or were subject to a Quarantine Act order to ensure these employers are complying with the new conditions imposed.

Pathways to permanent residence

• The Government of Canada has heard from many sectors about the need for skilled labour to grow their businesses, improve exports, and create more jobs – and new immigration is an important component in meeting this need.
• Several jurisdictions across the country have also reported chronic and significant labour shortages in the agriculture sector, an issue that has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Our Government recognizes the importance of helping farmers to attract and retain enough workers to grow and process food that feeds Canadians and helps maintain a stable food supply for the country.
• The Department is responding to labour market challenges with increased levels of permanent immigration, options for hiring temporary workers, and innovative initiatives and pilot programs that address specific needs in an industry or region.
• In other words, facilitating the transition from temporary work status to permanent residency continues to be a dominant feature of our immigration system. Canada’s immigration system focuses on selecting candidates with high human capital who can contribute to the long-term prosperity of Canada.
• To spread the benefits of immigration to all parts of the country, in recent years, there have been a number of new and enhanced pathways to permanent residence, including at the low- and intermediate-skill levels: We have also launched several pilot programs that have a regional or sectoral focus, designed to test new approaches to immigrant selection and retention. This allows the government to respond to specific labour market challenges through targeted economic immigration strategies
• First, the Provincial Nominee Program is a key component of Canada’s economic immigration programming, where immigrants are selected on the basis of their ability to become economically established in Canada and intend to reside in a nominating jurisdiction. This program enables provinces and territories to create streams to nominate immigrants who meet local labour market and economic needs, including needs in the agricultural sector.
• While our federal programs seek to balance needs across the country and across different parts of the economy, the Provincial Nominee Program enables jurisdictions to develop streams that are more employer-driven to address needs in “in-demand” sectors and occupations.
• Both the provinces and territories can create pathways for workers at all skill levels, and may do so for the agri-food sector – provided the applicant has a full-time, non-seasonal job offer, and many have created business streams enabling applicants to purchase or start farms, which they will be actively managing and operating their day-to-day business.
• The second program, the Agri-Food Pilot, is a newer initiative that aims to attract and retain experienced workers in the mushroom and greenhouse crop production, meat processing, and livestock raising industries, by providing them with an opportunity to become permanent residents.
• This three-year pilot will test an industry-specific approach to immigration, to help employers in these areas fill ongoing labour needs for full-time, year-round employees in specific occupations.
• Despite the pandemic, our Government was able to launch the Agri-Food Pilot on May 15, 2020. A total of 2,750 applications will be accepted for processing annually, with an estimated 16,500 new permanent residents landing throughout the Pilot, including both workers and their family members.
• Farms and other agri-food sector employers will benefit from having a new pathway for some of their temporary workers to remain in Canada permanently, while they work to recruit additional temporary and/or domestic workers.
• Third, the Atlantic Immigration Pilot is a collaborative partnership between IRCC and the Atlantic provinces. Specifically, the pilot is designed as a pan-Atlantic approach to address labour market needs and increase newcomer retention through an employer-driven model where employers play a more active role in the recruitment and retention of candidates, as well as through a mandatory settlement plan and customized settlement supports.
• The Atlantic Immigrating Pilot maintains a level of flexibility that allows provinces and communities, respectively, to prioritize the sectors that they identify as being most important to meet their economic development and labour market needs.
• Finally, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot uses a community-based approach to support smaller and more remote communities in accessing the economic benefits of immigration. This pilot is testing new partnerships to determine whether pairing meaningful career opportunities with community-tailored settlement approaches can increase the attraction and retention of newcomers in smaller Canadian centres.
• The Government has partnered with 11 community economic development organizations in northern Ontario and western Canada, who recommend immigrants based on local economic development and labour market needs.
• Both the Atlantic and the Rural and Northern pilots are effective in helping fill long-term labour market needs, in part due to the requirement that applicants have a full-time, non-seasonal job offer.

Note on Levels 2021 – regarding pathways

• Recently tabled in Parliament, the 2021-2023 Immigration Levels aims to welcome 401,000 permanent residents next year in 2021 in order to support our long term growth and recovery from the pandemic.
• In light of border restrictions, we are exploring opportunities to better streamline and facilitate applications from existing in-Canada populations, including those submitted by temporary workers to transition to permanent residence.  

Supporting facts and figures

Work permit issuance for agricultural and seasonal foreign workers (including 2020 shortfalls relative to 2019)

• Agricultural workers typically come to Canada with work permits through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program and the Agricultural Stream are the two streams of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program that bring seasonal agricultural workers into Canada.
• Mexico represents the most significant source of agricultural workers, followed by Guatemala and Jamaica.
• As this year’s harvest season is ending, most agriculture and seasonal workers are expected to return to their home countries (the majority will return by mid-December). As of November 1, approximately 47,362 agriculture workers had arrived in Canada this year – which is 8,411 fewer workers (a shortfall of 15%) compared to 2019.
• The following table provides a comparison of agriculture work permits issued in 2019 and 2020 , by province and territory:

Source: 1) Work-permit issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Cognos (MBR) as of May 13, 2020 and 2). Weekly work-permit issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Cognos (MBR) as of November 1, 2020. Data is operational, based on preliminary estimates and is subject to change. Data more recent than October 2020 has not been publicly released.

• In terms of the number of arrivals, the following table highlights the number of work permits issued to agriculture and seasonal workers by month. The highest volumes of workers tend to arrive in April for Canada’s planting season, and continue arriving throughout the summer to work during the harvesting season (from June to October)

Source: 1) Work-permit issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Cognos (MBR) as of May 13 and 2) Weekly work-permit issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Cognos (MBR) as of November 1, 2020. Data is operational, based on preliminary estimates and is subject to change. Data more recent than October 2020 has not been publicly released.

Inspections during COVID-19

• The Government of Canada is strengthening the employer compliance regime, particularly on farms, by making improvements to how tips and allegations of employer non-compliance are addressed (such as by initiating an inspection) through an investment of $16.2M.
• The Government is also investing $35M to improve health and safety on farms and in employee living quarters to prevent and respond to the spread of COVID-19. This amount will go toward direct infrastructure improvements to living quarters, temporary or emergency housing (on- or off-farm), as well as the provision of personal protective equipment, sanitary stations, and any other health and safety measures. Non-repayable contributions will be cost-shared 50:50 with the applicants.
• Further, the Government is also working to develop mandatory requirements to improve employer-provided accommodations, focusing on ensuring better living conditions for workers. As a first step, the Government (led by Employment and Social Development Canada) is consulting with provinces and territories, employers, workers and foreign partner countries on a proposal for these mandatory requirements for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, and will work with those same partners to implement changes. Improvements to worker accommodations will also help reduce the risk of infection and spread of COVID-19 for foreign workers.
• As of October 31, 2020, 3,301 inspections have been launched under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, and 1,801 have been completed. Results to date have demonstrated that most employers inspected have met the requirements of the Program (during quarantine and outside quarantine). No incidents of non-compliance have been recorded and employers have corrected the minor issues uncovered during the course of the inspection and have been brought into compliance, no penalties have been applied.
• Reported on-farm outbreaks have occurred after the mandatory 14‑day quarantine period. A new inspection may be triggered following reports of an outbreak, which could lead to a different outcome.
• Employer submissions of evidence are complemented by voluntary interviews with foreign workers themselves.

• As inspections shift in focus to the post-quarantine period Employment and Social Development Canada will be looking to resume on-site inspection in a way that will not exacerbate public health concerns by traveling to locations.

  It is important to note that provinces and territories are responsible for occupational health, safety and working conditions on farms. If there is an outbreak of COVID-19 at a worksite, because public health falls within provincial and municipal jurisdiction, the provinces/territories and local health authorities are the first authorities to arrive onsite to verify an employer’s compliance with relevant provincial and territorial laws.

Atlantic Immigration Pilot

• The Atlantic Immigration Pilot has seen a total of 82 endorsements for candidates with job offers in the “natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations”, out of a total of 7,527 endorsements pilot-wide.

Background

• The Temporary Foreign Worker Program is an Employment and Social Development program (co-led with IRCC) and the Primary Agriculture Stream, which includes the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, is a very important component.
• Since the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program is key to the Canadian economy generally and the agriculture sector specifically, the program is a government priority. For employers to access Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program their production must be included on the National Commodities List and the activity must be related to on-farm primary agriculture.
• The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program began as an international agreement between Canada and Jamaica in 1966 and was later expanded to other Caribbean countries and Mexico. The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program facilitates the temporary migration of Caribbean and Mexican agricultural workers into Canada to meet seasonal agricultural labour needs when there are shortages of available Canadians and permanent residents. The program operates in accordance with Memoranda of Understanding agreements between Canada and participating Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program countries to outline administrative arrangements and responsibilities.
• Aside from the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, there are three other options under the Primary Agriculture Stream which can be accessed by employers: the agricultural stream, the low wage stream and the high wage stream. Under the agricultural stream, production must also be included on the National Commodities List and the work must be related to on-farm primary agriculture, however, workers can be from any country. For the low- and high-wage streams, production does not need to be included on the National Commodities List.

Facilitative measures to facilitate agricultural workers

• To assist with labour supply for Canada’s agriculture sector, IRCC introduced several measures to help facilitate temporary foreign workers (and their employers) affected by the disruption in services and travel due to the coronavirus outbreak, such as:
  • prioritizing work permit applications for agricultural and agri-food occupations;
  • exempting foreign nationals from the requirement to provide biometrics for work permit applicants in the agriculture and agri-food sectors;
  • working closely with foreign government authorities to ensure that flights bringing foreign workers to Canada (as well as to return home) would remain available; and,
  • engaging with stakeholders in Canada and overseas to identify barriers to processing work permit applications.
• One of the main recent policy changes that IRCC also undertook in light of the pandemic is related to worker protections, requiring employers to support foreign workers during the mandatory 14-day quarantine and isolation period when entering the country. On April 20, 2020, federal regulations were put in place that require employers of foreign workers to support workers during mandatory quarantine and isolation, including by paying wages.

Opportunities to transition to permanent residence

• Facilitating transitions from temporary worker to permanent residency is a dominant feature of Canada’s immigration system. However, Canada’s immigration system focuses on selecting candidates with high human capital who can contribute to the long-term prosperity of Canada; therefore, it may be difficult for temporary workers in the lower skill ranges (and seasonal workers) to transition through the Department’s economic pathways – this includes most agriculture related occupations, such as general farm workers, and nursery and greenhouse workers (both of which are Skill Level C).
• While there are fewer permanent resident admissions to the intermediate and lower-skilled classifications 8% in 2018), there are several programs now open to such skill levels, notably:
  • Provincial Nominee Program allows streams at NOC C and D level and these allocations have been increased significantly in recent years.
  • Atlantic Immigration Pilot, launched in 2017, is open to NOC C;
  • Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot is open to NOC C and NOC D; and
  • Agri-Food Immigration Pilot launched is open to NOC C and D occupations.