Farm workers stranded in Ontario

Dec 14, 2020

The government of Trinidad and Tobago is unwilling to allow most of the seasonal workers to return home

By Jackie Clark
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Farmers and ag industry representatives are scrambling to work out logistics to support farm workers from Trinidad and Tobago that are stranded in Canada. Approximately 385 workers are in Ontario from that country, which is refusing to let most of them travel home, Ken Forth, president of Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Services (FARMS), told Farms.com.

“I think 12 (workers) went home the other day, so there are about 360 that we know of but there may be a few more than that,” he said. They are basically “exiled in Canada.”

Some workers have been ready to go home since mid-summer, however the government of Trinidad and Tobago has only made a few exceptions to allow travel back home.

“We’ve been on the phone with the Canadian government since September,” Forth explained. “We called everybody. I think the Canadian government thought this would get ironed out, but it didn’t. And now these guys are out of status on Tuesday.”

FARMS has been attempting to work with government officials to negotiate travel conditions, as well as extend the work permits of the foreign workers. The Canadian government is telling farmers to go through the process for that extension online, Forth said.

Ag industry reps have been asking for clarity on this process for more than a week, and “now we’re finally finding out the terms of this today, tomorrow’s the 15^th and they’re out of status,” he added.

If the work permits are not extended, healthcare will no longer be covered for the stranded workers, Forth explained. “Some of them do have auxiliary health insurance,” but the details of that coverage are unclear.

Many of these workers are unprepared for Canadian winter conditions and have no guaranteed source of income.

“We’re running out of time here. I can’t imagine what those men and women are going through, who were expecting to go home for Christmas, and aren’t going,” Forth said. “We have the capacity at FARMS to rent airplanes to send them home. Trinidad owns Caribbean Airlines and they will not let anyone rent any of their airplanes. We could rent two or three airplanes and get everybody home. But they said no.”

The government of Trinidad and Tobago is “charging the farmers almost 50 per cent more than the normal cost to send (workers), not to mention that they’re not taking enough of them home,” he added.

One farmer had 20 workers, and the government issued an exemption form for only one worker, pending a negative COVID-19 test 72 hours prior to departure, Forth explained.

“He was told by his health department that he could get the test and it would be back in 24 hours. It took 71 hours to get back, so he didn’t qualify for the flight,” he said. “It’s almost unconscionable that the Trinidad government is telling the healthcare system in Canada ‘you will do a test 72 hours out.’”

Even so, “the COVID test isn’t the issue, because they’re only giving that exemption test to the odd (worker),” he added. “That doesn’t address the problem of the other over 300 workers that are still sitting here.”

This situation “isn’t on the farmer, this isn’t on the worker, this isn’t on the Canadian government. This is strictly on the Trinidad government. And there’s not even an explanation from them,” Forth said. “The Canadian government can’t get involved heavily (in the situation) because they can’t criticize what another government does.”

The entire situation “has been totally frustrating,” Forth said.

For FARMS, “it would take five or seven days for us to arrange to get an airplane ready to go and landing rights and everything in normal circumstances, but Trinidad won’t allow that,” he explained. “They’re not giving any information to anyone, and now the next flight to Trinidad on Caribbean airlines is on the 22^nd … there’s only one more flight between now and Christmas, unless we’re able to book a charter, and so far (the Trinidad and Tobago government) has said no.”

The Canadian government has not given any official word about protecting the workers by extending their work permit status while they’re on Canadian soil before tomorrow’s deadline.

“It’s all up in the air, nothing has been announced yet,” Forth said.

(Please note, FARMS is not affiliated with Farms.com.)

rarrarorro\iStock\Getty Images Plus photo

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