SAWP In Canada

Another demonstration of lack of government services and legislation for Canadian migrant workers in the SAWP program can be clearly seen through poor health and working conditions, as well as a lack of government health related resource. In the first place, one must understand that Canadian agricultural migrant labours are occupied with some of the most dangerous working conditions in the country, including the handling of hazardous pesticides, large machinery and heavy lifting (Hennebry, “Not Just a few Bad Apples”). Despite the dangers involved in agricultural work, migrant workers are “not covered under [the] Provincial Occupational Health and Safety Act or the Labour Relations Act” (Preibisch, Migrant agricultural workers and processes of social inclusion in rural Canada). This reality implies that owner of farms with unsafe working conditions will not be held to the same level of responsibility for injuries to migrants as they would be for injuries to Canadians. This also shows that migrant workers in Canada have limited resources when it comes to health and safety rights and benefits. At this point it should be noted that health insurance programs are in place for all SAWP workers, but Jenna Hennebry shows that many of those workers are afraid of telling their boss of health problems, “for fear of repatriation” (Making vulnerability visible). All of these realities have led to the low health standers that many Canadian temporary workers experience. Although only a few of the major reasons for health issues among SAWP workers in Canada have been discussed here, it should be clear that the government needs to address these issues through legislation and changes to the way SAWP operates.