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More Seasonal Workers Coming to Ontario

Friday, 4 August 2023 05:57

By Kyle Freel @KFreelHeartFM

We have more than 500 seasonal workers in Oxford County and that number is expected to grow.

OXFORD COUNTY - A busy time of year for farmers in Ontario.

That filters into Oxford County, and with all the work, it means bodies are need to fill the jobs. Seasonal workers are an answer so that products can get to the market.

Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Service President, Ken Forth says the number is high when it comes to seasonal staff on farms.

"So we bring in about between 18,000 to 20,000 workers a year into Ontario. There are about over 500 in Oxford and over 3,000 in Norfolk currently."

He adds those numbers will rise as the demand becomes greater in the area. Forth mentions, that seasonal work is not for everyone.

"There are a lot of people out there that are seasonal, which you can appreciate. You can't live in Canada and work on a farm for six months a year at the most, maybe four months and make a living."

The seasonal workers usually come from Mexico, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad/Tobago, and the Eastern Caribbean nations and are placed at Ontario fruit and vegetable farms this growing season as a supplement to local labour through the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program. 

Approximately 1,100 farms will benefit from the program this year. 

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