Dear Primer Blaine Higgs,
My husband and I operate a large horticulture farm in Pré-d’en Haut , Memramcook. N-B on which we hire 40 foreign workers.
April 28, 2020, has been a very sad day in New Brunswick with the announcement from our Prime Minister stating the forbidding temporary foreign workers to N.-B.
The Prime Minister and his entourage are very disconnected to the reality on our farms and to what it represents to farm in 2020. An agricultural worker is a specialize trade just like any order profession. One must have very little knowledge on how it is demanding and how much resilience it require to practice this trade, and to think that anyone can improvise to be an agricultural worker. Quite often, the agricultural occupation responsibilities demand physical work 10 hours/day, 7 days/week, in cool, cold, wet, hot, humid temperatures. The task may require the worker to do his work standing up, on his knees or bend over, which cause back pain, shoulder ache and sore hands.
In these pandemic times, for the past two months, we have been informed of the importance of agriculture in order to guarantee our food autonomy while supporting our economy as well as the importance to support local products. Prime Minister, what have you not understood? We were asked to implement a plan to isolate the foreign workers at the arrival for 14 days. We have strictly followed the requirements. We have purchase masks, hand and surface disinfectants. We have modified our vehicles to include Plexiglas to isolate the driver. Without any exception, we have done all what was required.
Despite our efforts to attract local workers, every year, it has always been a race against time to harvest all our crops. We always have fruit and vegetables that are lost due to frost damage in the fall or strawberry and blueberry that are lost due to overripening due to lack of time to harvest. One may think that agriculture only takes place during the summer months. On our farm, we start our operation in April until the end of December and even in January before we have package and sold our products.
It has been eleven years that foreign workers have work on our farm. We also hire local workers who want to work on our farm. We continuously poste adds on our website, Jobbank, Kijiji, and Facebook. So far this year, we have received 8 Canadians applications, two of them wants to be paid under the table and two were thirteen years old. So, my understanding is that we have four potential full-time workers. Therefore, Prime Minister, do you really think this is how we are going to replace our 40 Jamaican specialize agricultural workers? And, do you know that the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program exist since 1973?
This year, we already foresee a very difficult year due to the Canadian border closure and the delay of the foreign workers on our farm. At this time, we are barely trying to catch up. You say it is only temporally. Are we going to wait until our fruits are lost in the field before you allow access to our workers?
We would like to remind you that the N-B agriculture sector is a key element to the province economy representing a turnover of over one billion. It is not negligible for a poor province such as ours.
It is a very sad day for our democracy, in a country like Canada. Therefore, Prime Minister, please let us our workers. They are essential.
My husband and I operate a large horticulture farm in Pré-d’en Haut , Memramcook. N-B on which we hire 40 foreign workers.
April 28, 2020, has been a very sad day in New Brunswick with the announcement from our Prime Minister stating the forbidding temporary foreign workers to N.-B.
The Prime Minister and his entourage are very disconnected to the reality on our farms and to what it represents to farm in 2020. An agricultural worker is a specialize trade just like any order profession. One must have very little knowledge on how it is demanding and how much resilience it require to practice this trade, and to think that anyone can improvise to be an agricultural worker. Quite often, the agricultural occupation responsibilities demand physical work 10 hours/day, 7 days/week, in cool, cold, wet, hot, humid temperatures. The task may require the worker to do his work standing up, on his knees or bend over, which cause back pain, shoulder ache and sore hands.
In these pandemic times, for the past two months, we have been informed of the importance of agriculture in order to guarantee our food autonomy while supporting our economy as well as the importance to support local products. Prime Minister, what have you not understood? We were asked to implement a plan to isolate the foreign workers at the arrival for 14 days. We have strictly followed the requirements. We have purchase masks, hand and surface disinfectants. We have modified our vehicles to include Plexiglas to isolate the driver. Without any exception, we have done all what was required.
Despite our efforts to attract local workers, every year, it has always been a race against time to harvest all our crops. We always have fruit and vegetables that are lost due to frost damage in the fall or strawberry and blueberry that are lost due to overripening due to lack of time to harvest. One may think that agriculture only takes place during the summer months. On our farm, we start our operation in April until the end of December and even in January before we have package and sold our products.
It has been eleven years that foreign workers have work on our farm. We also hire local workers who want to work on our farm. We continuously poste adds on our website, Jobbank, Kijiji, and Facebook. So far this year, we have received 8 Canadians applications, two of them wants to be paid under the table and two were thirteen years old. So, my understanding is that we have four potential full-time workers. Therefore, Prime Minister, do you really think this is how we are going to replace our 40 Jamaican specialize agricultural workers? And, do you know that the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program exist since 1973?
This year, we already foresee a very difficult year due to the Canadian border closure and the delay of the foreign workers on our farm. At this time, we are barely trying to catch up. You say it is only temporally. Are we going to wait until our fruits are lost in the field before you allow access to our workers?
We would like to remind you that the N-B agriculture sector is a key element to the province economy representing a turnover of over one billion. It is not negligible for a poor province such as ours.
It is a very sad day for our democracy, in a country like Canada. Therefore, Prime Minister, please let us our workers. They are essential.
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