The Canadian Honey Council has chartered a plane from Nicaragua to bring in a small but crucial group of temporary foreign workers to help Canada’s beekeepers during the coronavirus crisis.
The flight was expected to leave the Central American country on Monday, delivering 80 workers to more than 30 employers across Canada.
Stranded Canadians wishing to return home in the face of the coronavirus pandemic have also been offered seats on the flight, in a link up between the Council and Global Affairs Canada.
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Each passenger will be subject to a health check before the flight and be required to self-isolated for 14 days upon arrival, under rules imposed by the federal government when allowing an exemption for TFWs.
Employers are expected to repay the Council a portion of the $200,000 it spent on chartering the flight, necessary because of the suspension of air travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beekeepers are just one of several agriculture and food-related industries in Canada desperate for workers, as spring begins and planting, growing and processing season kicks into action.
Canada is prioritizing Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) in important occupations to help farms and other businesses.
The federal government is aiming to sure up Canada’s food security by helping farmers being in the labour they need to plant and harvest crops.
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), which handles LMIA requests through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, says priority is being given to ‘occupations in agriculture and agri-food’.
The priority occupations are:
- 6331 – Butchers, meat cutters and fishmongers – retail and wholesale
- 7511 – Transport Truck drivers
- 8252 – Agricultural service contractors, farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
- 8431 – General farmworkers
- 8432 – Nursery and greenhouse workers
- 8611 – Harvesting labourers
- 9462 – Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
- 9463 – Fish and seafood plant workers
- 9617 – Labourers in food, beverage and associated products processing
- 9618 – Labourers in fish and seafood processing
Other measures put in place by ESDC include the waiving of minimum recruitment requirements until at least October 31, 2020.
It has also extended the validity of LMIAs from six to nine months and doubled the duration of employment from one to two years for workers in the low-wage stream as part of a three-year pilot.
