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Overview

Project Objective

The Fair Farm Work project begins with research into fair work certification schemes underway around the world that focus on the agricultural sector to evaluate how effective they are in incenting employers to hire migrant workers. With this knowledge, the project will determine the potential for a fair farm work certification scheme that could be developed and implemented in Ontario and will build a coalition of employers, workers, distribution chains and researchers to assess and execute an implementation plan.

Research questions

  1. What have we learned from previous experiences regarding the implementation of fair farm work labelling schemes (particularly in Europe and the U.S.)?
  2. What are the key elements to building a coalition between producers, consumers, distributors and workers’ rights organizations?
  3. How can a coalition support the idea of a certification scheme?

Background

In Canada, the systematized exploitation of migrant agricultural workers has been at the forefront of public debate, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, but progress in tackling this complex issue has been slow. Food supply chains are often opaque, and the challenges involve multiple policy areas. According to civil society coalitions and workers’ rights organizations, a coordinated regulatory response and effective sanctions are needed to tackle the exploitation of migrant agricultural workers. However, the problem does not rest with government alone: farmers/producers, supermarkets as well as consumer power need to be harnessed to improve the living and working conditions of essential migrant workers. Efforts to date to tackle the exploitation of agricultural migrant workers have focused on regulation, notably the creation of national housing standards and the implementation of regular, unannounced inspections of farms or meat-processing/packaging plants. Less attention has been paid to the impact that consumer power and worker organizations can have on the agriculture sector, including distribution chains.

Outcomes

Upon its completion, this project will have:

  • Developed a space for discussion around a concrete initiative with the potential of improving employment conditions in the agriculture sector in Southern Ontario.
  • Outlined a Fair Work labelling scheme adapted to the cultural and socioeconomic contexts of Ontario, based on the success of previous experiences in Europe and North America.
  • Proposed the conformation of a coalition of migrant workers’ organizations, local authorities, farmers and supermarkets that will seek to make both the ethical and business case for committing to Fair Work standards.
  • Provided guidelines for the consolidation of an independent certification body able to instrumentalize, monitor and evaluate the certification scheme.
  • Mobilized media and social media to create awareness about the certification initiative and attract the interest of consumers.