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Chatham

CK mayor trying to avoid food crisis

The mayor of Chatham-Kent is looking for clarity on who is allowed to enter Canada during the COVID-19 crisis to work at local farms and greenhouses this season.

Darrin Canniff said he's encouraged to hear the federal government is working to allow temporary foreign workers to work in Canada but added it's unclear if highly skilled workers from Mexico and the Caribbean will be allowed to enter the country.

In a letter to Ontario's Agriculture Minister and other senior government officials, Canniff said these workers are essential for a timely, knowledgeable and skilled workforce. Canniff added the agriculture industry needs access to the essential temporary foreign workers programs or the growing season could be in trouble because there won't be enough workers to keep it going, even if you draw from the community at large.

He said the agriculture industry can't start and stop whenever it wants because it's at the mercy of Mother Nature and farmers are currently making decisions about planting crops and signing contracts with producers and distributors worth billions of dollars.

"In Chatham-Kent alone, we have a $3 billion+ agricultural sector," the mayor said. "We don't have the luxury of weeks or even days, we need your support to bring these programs online now."

Canniff added without action, the municipality is facing local food instability, job losses, and that could mean the loss of generational family farms.

He said replacing experienced foreign workers with those from the community wouldn't work because some foreign workers have 15 and 20 years experience and replacing that much skill would be unsafe and a training nightmare.

"There is no doubt losing an entire year of production would be a devastating blow to our food security," Canniff said.

The mayor said he understands the need to keep people safe from the novel coronavirus and supports appropriate caution and measures.

The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association (OFVGA) acknowledges there are still many logistical challenges and details to resolve to ensure seasonal agricultural workers arrive in Canada but said it continues to work closely with national allies, such as F.A.R.M.S., the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Canadian Horticultural Council, and the federal government to find workable solutions to ensure the timely arrival of workers.

"The OFVGA will work closely with government and health officials to ensure that the entry of these essential foreign workers is done in the safest way possible, to protect the health of Canadians, the workers, and maintain a safe and secure domestic food supply," the association said in a statement on Thursday.

The OFVGA called this work uncharted territory towards exempting temporary foreign workers from pending travel restrictions due to covid-19.

"Seasonal agricultural workers are essential to annual food production," said the association. "Without the support of these workers, domestic food production will be impossible or significantly limited.

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