Federal Investment To Improve TFW Program

Aug 04, 2020

On Friday, the Federal Government announced additional action is being taken to reduce the incidence and impact of COVID-19 outbreaks on farms.

Ottawa is investing $58.6 million to strengthen the Temporary Foreign Workers Program to safeguard the health and safety of Canadian and temporary foreign workers.

There's $7.4 million to increase supports to temporary foreign workers, including $6.0M for direct outreach to workers delivered through migrant worker support organizations.

There's $16.2 million to strengthen the employer inspections and $35 million to improve health and safety on farms and in employee living quarters to prevent and respond to the spread of COVID-19.

This money will be used for infrastructure improvements to living quarters, temporary or emergency housing (on- or off-farm), as well as PPE, sanitary stations, and any other health and safety measures.

Non-repayable contributions will be cost-shared 50:50 with the applicants.

The Government will also work to develop mandatory requirements to improve employer-provided accommodations, focusing on ensuring better living conditions for workers which will help reduce the risk of infection and spread of COVID for foreign workers.

The Windsor-Essex County in Ontario is currently dealing with a COVID outbreak amongst Temporary Foreign Workers.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.