Canada needs 30,000 new immigrants in agri sector: Report
Darpan News Desk IANS, 19 Apr, 2023 02:09 PM
Toronto, April 19 (IANS) Canada needs 30,000 permanent immigrants over the next decade to either start up their own farms, or take over existing ones, to address a looming labour crisis in the agriculture industry, says a new study.
According to a Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) research, 40 per cent of Canadian farm operators will retire by 2033, placing agriculture on the cusp of one of the biggest labour and leadership transitions in the country's history.
Over the same period, a shortfall of 24,000 general farm, nursery and greenhouse workers is expected to emerge, and in 10 years, 60 per cent of today's farm operators will be over the age of 65, that is, close to retirement.
Amidst all this, 66 per cent of producers do not have a succession plan in place, leaving the future of farmland in doubt, the study said.
Canada's agricultural sector is among the most diverse in the world though the degree of demand for foreign workers differs significantly by province and operation.
When it comes to more highly-skilled farm operators, Canada has always welcomed them from India, the Netherlands, China, the US and the UK.
However, in case of immigration of low-skilled labourers, better policies are needed because the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) program, which remains a critical source of low-skilled labour, is just a provisional solution to a chronic issue, the study said.
Many of these TFWs who develop skills essential to seeding and harvests, must return to their home countries for short periods, and if they are unable to return to Canada, the country's on-farm workforce is dramatically reduced.
RBC researchers said that a pathway to permanent residency for experienced TFWs will immediately address this type of shortage.
Canada had started an agriculture-specific immigration pilot programme in 2020 to give a path to permanent residency for non-seasonal workers with experience, which is set to end in May 2023, a CBC News report said.
As of February 2023, more than 1,500 people have been admitted through the program in Ottawa province.
A department spokesperson told CBC that they are assessing the pilot programme "and the possible extension beyond its scheduled expiry".
The spokesperson added that giving migrants permanent residence "is not the solution to labour shortages".
Const. Wade Tittemore, 43, died Monday while off-duty, skiing with a colleague just north of Kaslo, B.C. Nelson police Chief Donovan Fisher said Tuesday that Tittemore will be missed terribly in the small force of 20 officers.
On Tuesday, at approximately 2:20 a.m., Surrey RCMP received multiple 911 calls that a man had been shot near a convenience store in the 13100-block of 104 Avenue. Police attended and located a 44-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to hospital with serious injuries.
Canada should make it so air travellers are automatically entitled to compensation from airlines when their flights are disrupted, rather than having to make claims on their own, a passenger advocate said Tuesday.
On January 4th at approximately 1:00 p.m. Officers responded to a road rage incident near Mount Seymour Parkway and Lillooet Road in North Vancouver. Bystanders called 911 after the occupants of two vehicles exiting the Superstore parking lot entered into an altercation.
The 70-year-old victim was injured when she tried to stop the would-be thief. The suspect, who was carrying a cup of instant noodles, allegedly threw the soup in the woman’s face and on her clothes. The suspect fled the store, but was arrested nearby after Vancouver Police responded to a 9-1-1 call from a witness.
The Nelson Police Board said the two were on snowmobiles about 70 kilometres north of the city when they were engulfed. The Avalanche Canada website rated the avalanche risk at a three on its five-point scale, meaning the danger was "considerable."
