DECEMBER 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC
Proposed foreign worker registry
raises concerns Details yet to come on how farmers will comply
by PETER MITHAM VICTORIA – The province
says plans to create a registry of temporary foreign workers won’t create extra headaches for farmers, but producers are skeptical. “We support protecting
workers and improving working conditions,” says Reg Ens, executive director of the BC Agriculture Council, which represents producers groups in the province. “The devil’s in the details. How is the registration going to actually protect workers? What is it going to do?” The registry was a key issue raised with provincial ministers and MLAs when farm groups converged on Victoria for Agriculture Day on November 6. The conversations were helpful, BC agriculture minister Lana Popham told Country Life in BC, but she directed questions about the details to labour minister Harry Bains, who is leading the file. “I don’t want to speak for his ministry, but what I can tell you, from an agricultural perspective, … [is] the working group that’s working on temporary foreign workers and seasonal foreign workers … met with Minister Bains to give direct feedback and I know that’s going to help,” she says. “They’re still working on it but they didn’t want to move forward without that input.” Orchard workers topped the list of vulnerable groups Bains identified in introducing the new legislation October 23. “There have been issues in the agriculture sector
involving fair treatment, appropriate housing, support for family visits and more flexible work permits,” his communications staff said in talking points provided to Country Life in BC. However, communications staff said commercial recruiters are the law’s primary target. The legislation, if passed, will require anyone recruiting foreign workers be licensed, unless they’re hiring for a business they own or are acting for government. All employers will need to be registered with the province, though it’s not known when that will be required. “Government is conscious of the fact that employers must already apply for approval from the federal government to hire temporary foreign workers, including workers in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program,” ministry staff said. “For this reason, the ministry is designing an online, no-cost process designed to ensure that registration with the province is relatively quick and easy, while still fulfilling its important purpose. This is about protecting worker rights, not about creating barriers to recruiting or hiring for the vast majority of businesses who follow the rules and treat their employees with respect.” Despite the lack of details
from the province, Ens says the ministry has told industry that they’ll require a certificate from the province prior to seeking a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from Service Canada, which determines how many foreign
3
A fall harvest of squash, root vegetables, apples and nuts was front and centre at one of the last market days before the Kelowna farmers’ market moved indoors for winter. MYRNA STARK LEADER PHOTO
workers they can recruit. “My understanding on the
process is that a farmer is going to have to have this approval before they submit their LMIA application,” Ens says.
However, an employer may not be approved for the workers they’ve told the province they hope to get, or may hire fewer than indicated. “I don’t see any place in it
where there’s any follow-up on the actual number of employees that actually arrive here or their names or any of
that,” Ens adds, speculating that this is where audits would kick in.
He doesn’t expect the changes to affect farm businesses until the 2020 growing season, given that most are in the process of seeking LMIAs for 2019 to avoid a federal initiative to collect biometric data, such as fingerprints, from SAWP workers from Mexico recruited under applications approved in 2019.
The changes could bring BC closer to the regime in
neighbouring Washington, where third-party farm labour contractors must be licensed. Recruiters must present potential employees with their terms of engagement in written form on designated stationery at the time of recruitment. The law in Washington stipulates a fine of $500 per infraction. Penalties have not been established in BC, but the legislation provides for the filing of liens and seizure of assets held by those with sums outstanding.
AS YOU CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAY SEASON, WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS AND WISH YOU EVERY SUCCESS IN THE NEW YEAR.
Lee Gogal, BBA
Director and Group Lead, BC Agriculture 604.308.1657 |
lee.gogal@scotiabank.com
Henri Peeters
Director, National Accounts Agriculture 604.798.7396 |
henri.peeters@
scotiabank.com
Meagan Beattie
Senior Client Relationship Manager, BC Agriculture (Interior) 250.212.0555 |
meagan.beattie@
scotiabank.com
Bar Hayre Market Lead, BC Agriculture
604.807.6900 |
barinder.hayre@scotiabank.com Trina Marshman
Agriculture Specialist, BC Agriculture 250.819.0013 |
trina.marshman@
scotiabank.com
Kimberly Ross,
M.Sc. (
Ag.Ec.) Director, BC & AB Agriculture
604.302.2620 |
kimberly.ross@
scotiabank.com Jason Warmerdam, BBA
Senior Client Relationship Manager, BC Agriculture 604.845.4760 |
jason.warmerdam@scotiabank.com
Dariann Kloot, BBA
Client Relationship Manager, BC Agriculture 604.328.0494 |
dariann.kloot@scotiabank.com
Amman Dhaliwal
Agriculture Specialist – Small Business, BC Agriculture 604.365.9667 |
amman.dhaliwal@scotiabank.com
scotiabank.com/agriculturalservices
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