Popular Canadian immigration channel quietly canceled!
The Canadian federal government recently decided not to renew or replace the well-received "Agri-Food Pilot" immigration program, which has been popular with the agricultural and food industry. This decision has sparked strong dissatisfaction and concerns from employers, unions, and industry associations.
Launched in 2020, the project provided a stable path to permanent residency for workers in meat processing, mushroom and greenhouse cultivation, livestock farming, and other fields. It was specifically designed for temporary foreign workers engaged in full-time, year-round work, aiming to alleviate long-term labor shortages in the agricultural and food industries.
Since its establishment, the project has accepted 5,233 agricultural food workers and their family members as permanent residents, rejected 399 applications, and had 126 withdrawn. With this year's quota (1,010) exhausted in February, the project officially came to an end.
With the cancellation of the Agri-Food Pilot and stricter work visa approvals, agricultural companies have expressed difficulty in retaining workers. This not only affects agricultural output but also threatens the food supply chain from farms to supermarket shelves, especially against the backdrop of the U.S.-Canada trade war, making it even more vulnerable.
In a statement via email, the Canadian Immigration Department said that "economic pilot projects can only last up to five years and cannot be extended," and that they are currently evaluating the results of the pilot project and exploring permanent immigration channels for workers at different skill levels.
The Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), which represents over 2,000 unionized employees in Canada's agricultural sector, stated that immigration status is the first step in protecting worker rights, and without permanent residency, foreign workers are prone to exploitation.
The Canadian Mushroom Growers Association and the Canadian Meat Council both noted that the rejection of worker visas has already begun to cause direct losses to farms and a shortage of basic position personnel.
Experts and industry representatives generally called on the government to upgrade the Agri-Food Pilot into a permanent immigration channel; otherwise, it will not only affect food safety but also weaken the country's agricultural economy.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1830862233928704/
Disclaimer: The article solely represents the author's personal views.