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International farmers may ease Canadian human capital crunch

A global retirement crunch is coming and Canada is ill prepared, report says

As other nations reduce their agricultural footprints in an effort to boost sustainability, their loss could be Canada’s human capital gain, a new report suggests. “The immigration of scientists, data engineers, and entrepreneurs has been recognized as critical to Canada’s growth. A similar approach needs to be adopted to attract farmers,” the authors wrote. The […] Read more

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Ontario police charge seven with trafficking, exploiting migrants

Workers provided for farms and other sites, police say

Toronto | Reuters — Ontario’s York Regional Police have charged seven people with trafficking and exploiting 64 Mexican migrants, saying the accused were part of an international labour trafficking ring operating in the Toronto region. Police in Ontario said on Friday they had obtained information in November that migrant men and women were being exploited […] Read more


External view of the U.S. Department of Labor headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 30, 2020. (File photo: Reuters/Andrew Kelly)

U.S. to crack down on child labour amid massive uptick

Food processing plants among alleged offenders

Washington | Reuters — The Biden administration in the U.S. announced measures to crack down on child labour on Monday amid a steep rise in violations and investigative reports by Reuters and other news outlets on illegal employment of migrant minors in dangerous industries. U.S. officials said the Labor Department had seen a nearly 70 […] Read more

File photo overlooking the marina and sea wall at Half Moon Bay, about 30 km south of San Francisco. (JasonDoiy/E+/Getty Images)

Suspect in California farm worker shootings appears in court

Early evidence suggests workplace grievance, authorities say

Redwood City, Calif. | Reuters — A California farm worker accused of shooting seven people to death near San Francisco, some of them his co-workers, made his first court appearance on Wednesday after he was charged with murder in the state’s second deadly gun rampage in recent days. Chunli Zhao, 66, the lone suspect in […] Read more


File photo of a flock of sheep in eastern Idaho. (Samson1976/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. sheep herders’ suit alleges cartel-like wage suppression

Reuters –– Sheep herders in the U.S. West have banded together to sue their employers, accusing them of operating an illegal cartel that artificially suppresses their wages, according to court documents filed Wednesday in Nevada. The case could have implications for how antitrust laws are applied to labour markets, according to legal experts, as the […] Read more

File photo of apple picking in a Canadian orchard. (Martinedoucet/E+/Getty Images)

New B.C. youth work rules: Heavy lifting, ag chem handling out

New standards also lift province's 'general working age' to 16

“Light farm and yard work” are deemed appropriate for workers at ages 14 and 15 under new employment standards taking effect in British Columbia this fall. The province on Wednesday announced changes to its Employment Standards Act, which have been through the development and consultation stages since 2019, have now been finalized and will take […] Read more


File photo of a small greenhouse operation in Quebec. (ManonAllard/E+/Getty Images)

New pilot program for agri-food labour welcomed

Meat processors, greenhouse and mushroom growers, livestock producers get first crack at program

Ottawa — Federal officials hope a new pilot program will help stabilize ongoing labour issues in certain sectors of the agri-food value chain, while also providing citizenship to some foreign workers. Critics, however, contend more support is needed. “This pilot will help to ensure that farmers and processors have the much-needed skills, experience and labour […] Read more

Farmer Anil Salunkhe feeds strawberries to a cow during a 21-day nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the Satara district in India’s Maharashtra state on April 1, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Rajendra Jadhav)

How COVID-19 is upending global food supply chains

Cows fed strawberries in India, watermelons rot in U.S., okra not reaching Canada

Satara/Singapore/London | Reuters — In the fertile Satara district in western India, farmers are putting their cattle on an unorthodox diet: Some feed iceberg lettuce to buffalo. Others feed strawberries to cows. It’s not a treat. They can either feed their crops to animals or let them spoil. And other farmers are doing just that […] Read more


Farmer Brian Derksen seeds wheat on May 2, 2017 near Miami, Man., about 80 km south of Portage la Prairie. (Screengrab from Allan Dawson video)

Federal COVID-19 response for ag sector remains unclear

Imports of farm labour, crop inputs among concerns

Canada’s agriculture sector is waiting on details of a federal response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic as its concerns pile up. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has stated it understands “the importance of a stable labour force enabling Canadian food supply, and (is) committed to giving Canadians and businesses the support they need” but is not […] Read more