Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program and Okanagan Valley

Radical Action: This year marks the 66th anniversary of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program , the agricultural stream of Canada Temporary Foreign Workers Program . With the federal review of the TFWP set to end on June 15, Radical Action with Migrants in Agriculture , a group that advocates and provides support for migrant workers in Okanagan Valley, is demanding immediate reform of the program. "In 50 years this program hasn't changed, hasn't been reformed, according to Rabble. We're still seeing the same issues as when it was created. Chip in to keep stories like these coming. We're calling for serious overhaul including status upon arrival for all migrants," RAMA co-founder and organizer Elise Hjalmarson told rabble in a telephone interview. Closed work permits SAWP began bringing Jamaican migrants to Canada as seasonal labourers in the agricultural sector in 1966, under a Caribbean Commonwealth agreement. RAMA demands also include provincial health care upon arrival, stricter regulation of compliance with workplace safety standards, and legal protections for injured migrants facing deportation. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.