Federal agriculture minister talks immigration changes to keep farm workers

Greenhouse and mushroom operations desperately need more workers, especially with Ontario’s greenhouse vegetable industry expecting to add 1,900 more acres and 7,900 jobs in the next 10 years, Canada’s agriculture minister was told in Leamington.
“You’ve got producers with ongoing help wanted, help ads constantly and they’ve never taken them down,” George Gilvesy, chairman of the Ontario Vegetable Greenhouse Growers, said during the visit on Tuesday.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau met with greenhouse and mushroom industry leaders locally to address the labour shortages and to talk about the federal government’s new agri-food immigration pilot program that offers foreign workers in those industries, as well as in meat processing, a chance to become permanent residents.
In early 2020, temporary foreign workers will be able to apply under the pilot program to “fast track” their immigration, she said. A maximum of 2,750 applicants, plus their family members, will be accepted per year which could mean a total of about 16,000 new permanent residents during the three-year pilot, Bibeau said.
Canadian farms have massive labour shortages
Canada is at a historic low in unemployment and “we desperately need more workers,” she said.
“While our first priority is to make sure Canadians have the first chance at jobs, we also rely on the temporary foreign worker program,” Bibeau said….(Readmore)

Federal agriculture minister talks immigration changes to keep farm workers