Canadian farmers go hungry, and a domino effect is on the cards 

The Canadian government has always been more than welcoming to the farm migrant workers for a long. Under a number of programmes, foreign workers are hired on agricultural lands since the 1960s in Canada.

But, what has been done for the farm migrants so far? Certainly, nothing. It is shocking to say that these foreign workers are starving in Trudeau’s Canada.

So, we might not be mistaken if we call the foreign workers in Canada ‘slaves of 21 century’. You see, From 2005 to 2017, the percentage of foreign labourers employed in agricultural lands,  largely hailing from Latin America and the Caribbean countries, has increased steadily. The percentage climbed from 6.2% in 2005 to  16.1% in 2017. 50,800 foreign workers were working in agriculture in 2017, compared to 17,200 in 2005.

However, the living and working conditions of these migrant farm labourers paint a completely different picture. The Trudeau administration has let these poor foreign workers go to bed with gnawing stomachs.

“We are living in conditions of modern-day slavery,” said one migrant worker, in one of the anonymous testimonies in the report released by the Migrant Rights Network and Food & Farmworkers Working Group.

Certainly, workers on Canadian farms are going hungry.

Read More: “Slavery in 21st century”, Welcome to Trudeau’s Canada

Farm owners in Canada are responsible to provide temporary workers with shelters, but at the same time, they need to quench their hunger too. And at times when the food prices are already seeing a spike, these episodes seem like a cold day in July.

Due to issues like the war in Ukraine, COVID-related supply chain interruptions, and harsh weather, food prices have increased both domestically and internationally in recent months. According to a June report from Statistics Canada, over three-quarters of Canadians are finding it difficult to cover their daily expenses for food and other needs.

Some of the more than 60,000 temporary farm labourers who come to Canada each year as a result of rising food costs have also been compelled to forgo their own meals in order to ensure that their family members back home can afford food. In British Columbia, a slow spring — and thus fewer hours for workers — has exacerbated the problem,  Bryon CruzCruz, a community organizer and migrant-rights activist in Canada said.

Migrant workers in Canada are echoing their concerns, saying they find their daily groceries “too expensive” and the high prices are “impacting (them) strongly.”

Well not just food, but their housing arrangements, from limited access to bathrooms to congested living conditions, also paints a gloomy picture of their situation in Trudeau’s Canada.

The condition of foreign farm workers in Canada is so disturbing. Isn’t it? They left their lands and moved to Canada with a view to supporting their families at home. But, the recent price hike has made it ‘more difficult to access healthy food even for themselves.

The alarming condition of the workers in Canada raises the possibility of having a domino effect.

Well Canada, if farmers who produce your food are sleeping hungry, what does it tell about your situation? You see, it’s not just the farm migrant workers, but even lower or middle-incomed Canadians, who are now choosing between food or rent. Yes! Amid rising rental rates and a stagnant minimum wage, many renters say they’ve had to choose between buying food and paying rent.  Many people said they had to cut back on food to afford rent.

So now it’s only the rich who would afford food in Canada, but until when? Soon a majority of Canadians are going to face the consequences.  According to Food Banks Canada, 7 million Canadians are already reported going hungry at least once between March 2020 and 2022—that’s more than one in five people across the country. The survey also found that 23 per cent of Canadians reported eating less than they needed to because they did not have enough money for groceries. 

Read More: Saskatchewan minister rips into Trudeau for playing with the lives of Farmers

And the estimates say that the situation may go worse as the food prices are going to remain high and more and more Canadians will face the impact.

So Canadians you are living in a land where there is no food for your farmers. Today, it’s the foreign workers, but in the near future, it might be you. Your Prime Minister undoubtedly has no respect for your farmers, and you will be the one to suffer the domino effect!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUsb5I-j8c8