Canada’s top grocers say they are able to keep up with demand amid the COVID-19 outbreak, but some food producers are expressing concern over the impact the border restrictions could have on Canada’s agricultural food production.
While the country’s top grocers assure Canadians they’ll be able to keep up with demand amid the COVID-19 outbreak, food producers are expressing concern over the impact border restrictions could have on Canada’s agricultural food production.
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced border restrictions for travellers who are not citizens, permanent residents or Americans, with a few exceptions for diplomats, air crew and their immediate families.
The government says it’s taking this bold measure in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19, which has reached several provinces.
But Trudeau did not indicate when Canada would be opening its borders again, leaving producers wondering about the approximately 50,000 migrant workers Canadian farms depend on annually.
“If our borders are closed for a short period of time, even to the migrant workers, there will be trouble getting the crops in for the season,” said Steve Bamford, president of Toronto Wholesale Produce Association.
Bamford himself is waiting for migrant workers to arrive on the farms that he owns. He said running his operation without migrant workers would be difficult because they’re skilled and have been returning for the past 20 years.
‘A big food security issue’
Bamford said there wouldn’t be enough time to teach a general labourer the same skills in the weeks left before work on this year’s crops.
“It’s a huge impact for our growers — not just Ontario, but nationwide. There is no way that we would be able to farm without our migrant workers. I can’t put it any clearer than that,” said Bamford. “We will run into a big food security issue if that happens.”
Brett Schuyler, part-owner of family-run Schuyler Farms in Simcoe, Ont., echoed the concern.
“The majority of our horticulture industry is reliant on migrant farm workers,” said Schuyler.
The migrant workers predominantly come from Mexico and the Caribbean, according to Schuyler, and with the warmer weather on its way, there will soon be need for them.
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