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Vol. 8 Edition 2
YOUR Independent Community Newspaper THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2021
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COVID-19 hits farmers in the wallet By Pam Wright Local Journalism Initiative
Sarah Schofield/The Chatham Voice
The sun was shining and people weren’t the only ones enjoying the warmth from the rays recently. A Canada goose, part of a nearby flock of geese, is seen cautiously walking along Mud Creek’s banks near its human counterparts.
excelrealty.ca
It will cost John Jaques $100,000 to keep temporary foreign workers on his Thamesville-area asparagus farm safe during 2021 growing season. The owner of Sunshine Farms near Thamesville says he’ll be spending the cash to follow provincial and federal COVID-19 rules. And while it is a lot of cash, Jaques says it is necessary. “We want them to be safe,” Jaques says. “If they’re not safe, we’re out of business.” Jaques will employ 30 workers from Mexico, as he usually does, but the details of how they will get here haven’t been finalized. Under the Temporary Foreign Worker program, the federal government arranges flights and the farmer pays. Jaques’ workers are tentatively scheduled to fly in April 16 and 20 and he says that’s just in the nick of time. There are 60 acres of asparagus, among other vegetables, growing at Sunshine Farms, and it’s an early crop. It’s a flashback to 2020, when Jaques was waiting on pins and needles
after the federal government banned all air travel to stop the spread of COVID-19, causing large delays in the arrival of migrant workers as the travel decision had to be reversed for the farming community. Cucumbers are another major crop. The farm produces a wide array of pickles and pickled vegetables on site, which in turn are shipped across Ontario and to Western Canada. When workers arrive in Canada they must have a recent COVID-19 test in their home country, no less than three days prior to arrival. At customs, they are again tested for the virus. A 14-day quarantine period, at the farmer’s expense, then takes place at the farms where they will live and work. Jaques thinks a lot of safety problems could be solved if the workers were vaccinated upon arrival in Canada. “It would make sense,” he adds. “It’s smart and logical.” He says workers didn’t bring COVID-19 to Canada last year, but they became a target after outbreaks of the virus at area greenhouses.
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