CFA Pleased at Launch of the Temporary Foreign Worker Recognized Employer Program, Reducing Administrative Burden for Trusted Employers in Agriculture

Aug 11, 2023

OTTAWA, ON – CFA welcomes today’s announcement of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Recognized Employer Program, a three-year pilot that will first be made available to agricultural workers this September before its wider rollout in January 2024. This program, which CFA has advocated for over many years, looks to reduce the administrative burden required to obtain TFW’s for agricultural operations facing clear, chronic labour shortages and a proven track-record of abiding by all rules set forth for the treatment of agricultural employees.

“Canadian agriculture has had chronic labour issues for decades, which have only been exacerbated as labour and skills shortages have become more widespread throughout the Canadian economy. Many farmers across Canada have been unable to recruit Canadian workers for years. As a result, they are reliant on Temporary Foreign Workers to address these chronic shortages for in-demand occupations, many of them working with the same people for years, if not decades, on end. While we look forward to getting further details on the program, this program looks like it will reduce the administrative burden on those farmers who can demonstrate a history of compliance and years of reliability as employers,” said Keith Currie, CFA President.

“We applaud the federal government for launching this long-awaited program and are looking forward to working with them to ensure that this has the intended effect of streamlining administrative processes for those farmers and giving a public-facing designation on the Canada Job Bank that will add in their ongoing recruitment of Canadians by demonstrating their track-record as reliable employers and their commitment to safe working conditions.”

Source : CFA-FCA

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.