Dans le National Post : Migrant farm workers call for permanent residency, ability to bring families to Canada

Soon after the 2008 global financial crisis, the combination of a hurricane and a disease that devastated banana crops pushed Ricky Joseph out of his job as a banana salesman in Saint Lucia. With unemployment rising in the Caribbean island nation and two children to support, Joseph decided to come to Ontario in 2011 as a migrant farm worker.

Since then, hundreds of hours of unpaid overtime have taken a toll on Joseph, 44, who relies on energy drinks to help him get his job done. Meanwhile, the declining loonie is affecting his ability to support his teenage kids. “Their mom passed away and they depend on me for their total support,” he says. 

Alberto Moreno, a Mexican who came to Ontario as a Temporary Foreign Worker in 2012, says he spilled acid on his foot a week after landing in Canada because his employer had not taken safety precautions. Though he eventually received compensation after filing a complaint with the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Moreno says the acid burn took five months to heal because he didn’t have access to health care and his employer wouldn’t admit a workplace injury had taken place. He also says he lost his job over the complaint.

Joseph and Moreno are part of the Harvesting Freedom campaign launched Monday in Ottawa by the advocacy group Justice for Migrant Workers (J4MW). The campaign calls on the federal government to grant permanent residency to migrant farm workers who come to Canada under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program  on the grounds that this would protect their labour rights and make the system more compassionate by enabling workers, who may spend years away from home, to bring their families to Canada.

Pour lire la suite : http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/migrant-farm-workers-call-for-permanent-residency-ability-to-bring-families-to-canada