MAY 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC MacAulay grilled over farm labour issues
Industry leaders from across Canada taking their case to Ottawa rails in recent years, as it's no longer working as well as it once did. One change is that there's no service standard for processing applications. “It used to be that the
by TOM WALKER KELOWNA – BC Fruit
Growers Association (BCFGA) representatives met with federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay in early April, and labour was a key topic of conversation. “We reviewed with him
why we need seasonal workers, but also pointed out the number of jobs that are taken up by locals in the valley,” explains BCFGA general manager Glen Lucas. Indeed, some growers
employ a large percentage of local help, particularly in packing operations where students can earn a good wage through the summer season. “We are not here to undermine local workers – they are our preferred workforce – but we are still short, and that shortage is going to increase,” says Lucas. MacAulay heard that for
every foreign worker employed in local orchards, two to 2.5 locals work as supervisors, selling fruit, providing professional services and as equipment dealers.
SAWP issues
BCFGA and MacAulay discussed problems with the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), particularly processing times. “It’s a real concern right
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now. We are hearing some producers whose applications have been delayed up to three months,” Lucas says. “[MacAulay] also asked us for help, to provide more specific information that he could take to his colleagues in Service Canada. We are going to do our best to help the minister take our case forward.” “The trees don’t stop
growing,” adds BCFGA president Pinder Dhaliwal. “There are growers who have had workers come late and some that have not yet arrived at all.” Lucas feels Ottawa isn’t
taking the labour problem and the financial impact the delays are having on growers seriously enough. “If we don’t get pruning and thinning done, the fruit will be smaller. If we don’t have help at harvest, the fruit won’t get picked,” he says. “To see that crop end up on the ground because there is not enough labour is simply not acceptable.” Lucas says the program seems to have gone off the
process was very open and we could call and find out where an application was at, and now it is totally opaque,” he says. “You are not allowed to phone the office anymore; you can only phone the call centre and they really can’t help.”
The need for agriculture
workers is not going to diminish, says Dhaliwal. “Labour market studies tell us that by 2025, BC will need 11,000 more agriculture workers,” he says. “That’s only seven years away. Will they have enough staff to process 11,000 applications from BC?” BCFGA also urged
MacAulay to implement a program to recognize good
employers. “If a grower has been on
the SAWP program for a number of years and has a good track record, he should be able to earn a trusted employer status,” says Dhaliwal. “That would qualify them for a lower level of review and free up government staff to focus on new applications.” The leaders of grower
organizations from across Canada plan to converge on Ottawa on May 3 to press their case with both federal ministers and MPs generally in order to resolve the labour issues.
Research On the plus side, MacAulay
walked away with thanks for investing $80 million in the Sidney Centre for Plant Health. “It is really going to expand
more into a research facility, and I believe will make it world class,” says Lucas, explaining that BCFGA was part of the initial planning and recently participated in a session to build a more formal business plan. “This type of funding really helps out the industry,” he says.
BCFGA and members of
the Canadian Horticultural Council’s apple working group have been promoting a national tree fruit investment program, but MacAulay didn’t provide any new details despite encouraging words last year. “We are working towards a meaningful decision,” says Lucas. “We want to know more than just ‘there’s no money in the budget.’ We would like the government to tell us if it’s a priority.”
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