Ontario to ramp up farm inspections as migrant workers arrive for new season of work

The Ontario government says it will be ramping up inspections on farms as part of an effort to protect temporary foreign workers from COVID-19.

Labour Minister Monte McNaughton said the inspectionswould be starting ahead of the arrival of many of the thousands of employees who work atgreenhouses and farms throughout the province. However, hundreds have already arrived, with the County of Essex alone saying 600-700 migrant workers are already here.

But a migrant worker advocate says it's "too little, too late."

Karen Cocq, projects and campaigns coordinator for Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, said more inspections won't actually improve the situation.

"It's not going to change the systems and the rules that created this situation of extreme vulnerability for workers in the first place," she said.

According to McNaughton, who made the announcement at a press conference Wednesday,200 people have been trained to conduct the inspections and theprovincial government has accepted an offer from the MexicanConsulate to assist with Spanish translation.

"We'll talk directly to workers about any concerns they have," McNaughton said.

In addition, inspectors will also be looking for adherence topublic health protocols such ashand-washing, physical distancing and use of personal protective equipment, he said.

Penalities range from issuing orders to laying charges, with the maximum charge at $1.5 million for a corporation and $100,000 for an individual, along with the possibility of a 12 month prison sentence.

The announcement comes amid concern over the safety of migrant workers as the province experiencesa second wave of COVID-19 that is much bigger than the first.

Advocates for the workers have expressed concerns that acrisis could occurin the sector this year as it did in 2020.

Cocq said the government should have been more proactive with these inspections and that it's unclear how they were to truly know how a workplace is operating if the inspections are being done ahead of when migrant workers arrive.

"If inspections are being done before workers arrive, I don'tknow how the government is going to know whether or if enough PPE is being provided," she said.

"I don't know how the government is going to know if enough space is being provided in the workplace ... the fact of inspections, especially if they come with a fairly minor slap on the wrist, in and of themselves are not going tochange this problem."

Instead, Cocq said the government needs to consider giving migrant workers the same rights and protections as other workers in the province. But under temporary immigration status, she said that's not possible.

Last year, 12 per cent were infected with COVID-19, McNaughton said. Three people died.

The situation sparked a national response, and shone a spotlight on thetreatment and rights of temporary foreign workers in Canada.

One of the key concerns was the congregateliving conditions of the workers given that COVID-19 spreads easily withinclose quarters.

McNaughtonsaid that worker housing is notwithin the scopeof the labour ministry's farm inspectionsbut would be tackled by the federal government in partnership with local public health.

Leamingtonmayor voices isolation concerns

There are currently 13 outbreaks in the agrifarmsectorin Windsor-Essex, seven in Leamington and six in Kingsville.

Earlier this week, Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonaldexpressed concern about oversight of workers are who are completing their 14-day quarantine period after arriving in the region.

MacDonald, along with themayors of Kingsville and Tecumseh, sayinadequateco-ordination and communication haveleft local authorities uncertain as to who is responsible for overseeing the workers during their quarantine.

Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman said at the press conference that representatives of many different areas and levels of governmentcame together as a committee last year to respond to the outbreaks within the migrant worker population.

"That worked very well and we intend to very much keep that going," he said.

To date, 1,000inspections of agriculture workplaceshave been completedand 98 per cent reported no illnesses after their inspections, according to McNaughton.

"This meansthat preventative measures are working," he said.