MARCH 2019 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC
Smooth start to season as foreign
workers arrive Last year’s delays, challenges haven’t materialized
by PETER MITHAM ABBOTSFORD – A year ago,
Van Belle Nursery in Abbotsford was awaiting the first of 75 seasonal workers it sought to hire under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP). However, challenges in
processing applications meant that Van Belle and other growers were left in suspense as to when workers would arrive and just how many would actually land. Many growers ultimately went without, and others were left short. “We were not short in the
end,” says Van Belle human resources administrator Anita Ibarra. “But it was a challenge.” This year, Van Belle has
received the first 52 of 64 workers it requested. The workers arrived in two groups, with everyone landing as scheduled. “Whatever issues that were happening last year just seem to be gone this year. We were actually advised to be prepared for a repeat of issues, so we’re just pleasantly surprised,” says Ibarra. “Everything we do earlier in the year leads up to our busy shipping season, so we plan for the arrival of the guys, and we need them to show up.” The improvements please
BC agriculture minister Lana Popham, who told industry leaders attending the BC Agriculture Gala in Abbotsford on January 23 the shift reflects government and industry efforts to iron out the issues.
While the improvements
have been less significant in the Okanagan, Popham expects to resolve the outstanding issues. “I believe that the grape
growers are going to be working with us quite closely over the next year to improve the system,” she said. Complementing the
improvements in SAWP are new resources for employers the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council developed as part of the federally funded Quality AgriWorkforce Management Program. Agriculture and Agri-food
Canada invested $279,239 in the nine-month project, which wraps up at the end of March.
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Liberal MP for Mission-
Matsqui-Fraser Canyon Jati Sidhu announced the funding on behalf of federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay at the BC Agriculture Gala on January 23.
CAHRC program manager
Janet Krayden said the funding is significant because it’s the first time Ottawa has spent money to address hiring issues in the farm sector. “It’s not a whole lot of
money, but it’s a start,” Sidhu said. “This includes developing new
communication tools to support farmers and other agricultural employers in assessing, training and managing workers.” The province estimates
that food production and processing activities employ 61,000 people in BC. CAHRC says each international worker that arrives to do work domestic workers don’t want to do supports “two to four full-time Canadian agriculture-related jobs up and down the agri-food supply chain.”
Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council executive director Portia MacDonald-Dewhirst, far left, joined Liberal MP Jati Sidhu, BC Agriculture Council president Stan Vander Waal and CAHRC project manager Janet Krayden at the BC Agriculture Gala, January 23, as Sidhu announced a federal investment in CAHRC’s Quality AgriWorkforce Management Program. SEAN HITREC PHOTO
Province mulls piece rates BC labour minister Harry Bains has
received a study of piece rates from Karen Taylor, an agriculture relationship manager with TD Bank in Langley and adjunct professor at UBC in food and resource economics. Bains asked Taylor to undertake the study last summer in view of a lack of information regarding the rates hand- harvesters in the province receive. “In some cases, there was very little or no
data available,” ministry staff explained last fall.
Taylor’s report aimed to fill in the gaps so
that government can decide what changes, if any, to make to BC’s piece rate system.
The province wants all farm workers paid at least minimum wage by June 1. The report has yet to be made public, and ministry staff gave no hint regarding its content. “Government is taking a more in-depth look at how to ensure compensation for farm workers is both fair for workers and sustainable for farm operators,” labour ministry staff said. BC’s minimum piece rates increased 11.5% as of January 1, following a similar increase in the hourly minimum wage last June to $12.65. A further increase to the hourly minimum wage this June will see it rise 9.5% to $13.85 an hour.
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