Farmworkers and activists have long called on the government to address inconsistent and often appalling, overcrowded migrant farmworker housing. Agricultural business groups, however, have lobbied against a national housing standard for migrant farmworkers. More than ever, the pandemic reveals the potentially deadly results of how Canada treats racialized people from the Majority World who are categorized as essential yet “temporary” workers.

To offset the cost of housing workers in a way that complies with pandemic requirements, the federal government has provided $50 million to farms and agri-food businesses that employ people through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. So worker housing in the COVID-19 crisis must be decent, right? This video shows where migrant farmworkers in Ontario are currently being housed:

We demand that governments ensure dignity for essential migrant farmworkers. Please sign our petition: https://harvestingfreedom.org/2020/05/07/petition-tell-the-ontario-government-farmworkers-need-urgent-protections/