Foreign worker vaccination prioritized

Temporary foreign workers in the agriculture sector are a priority for the second phase of COVID-19 vaccinations, says federal employment minister and Delta MP Carla Qualtrough.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization has recommended the move as part of measures to address COVID-19 among vulnerable populations, including those in congregate housing.

“NACI has recommended that essential workers and anyone living in congregate spaces should be prioritized in Stage 2 of vaccinations, and that includes temporary foreign workers,” Qualtrough said last week in announcing funding of $17 million from the federal Emergency Food Processing Fund to assist 117 food processors in BC make COVID-19-realted safety upgrades.

Qualtrough said Ottawa is working with all stakeholders, including providing funding for initiatives aimed at keeping migrant workers and communities safe.

“We are putting in place the same measures that we learned were the most impactful last year,” she said. “We’ve definitely learned a lot. I’ve heard over the past weeks that people are more comfortable, obviously, going into this season than they were last season, because it was literally on the fly last season.”

An announcement regarding federal quarantine requirements for incoming foreign workers is expected this week. A three-week exemption from the provisions of quarantine requirements that took effect February 21 ends March 14, a period designed to give Ottawa time to work out funding arrangements with the provinces that would ease the burden on employers.

“We’ve done a really good job I think in the past year of working with industry on the quarantine measures around TFWs,” said Qualtrough, who has spoken with the Delta Farmers Institute and horticultural organizations on the file.

“I can’t scoop what we’re going to be announcing,” she told Country Life in BC, “but it will reflect, absolutely, what we’ve heard from industry in terms of their preferences with how to proceed.”

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12 hours ago

It was another sell-out at the 31st annual Fort Langley Cranberry Festival on Saturday with organizers selling 5,000 pounds of locally-grown, fresh berries in less than five hours. Youth from the Fort Langley Lions Club's Young Lions program scooped, bagged and weighed several pallets' worth of cranberries. Ocean Spray donated the berries, which the public bought to benefit the community. Local grower The Bog was also selling fresh berries, having brought 2,700 pounds, which were on track to sell out by the end of the#BCAgt.

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5 days ago

There was a lot of reminiscing and appreciation of how far BC's turkey industry has come at a reception celebrating the 75th anniversary of the BC Turkey Association and the 60th anniversary of the BC Turkey Marketing Board yesterday in Abbotsford. With a slideshow of events and people over the years, guests laughed and had a lot to be thankful for. "It's an opportunity to celebrate the industry at a time of year that's known for turkey. It's a culmination of all the year's work," says Natalie Veles, executive director with BC Turkey Marketing Board.

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Love it - Deb Etsell I see you 🤩

6 days ago

BC was the sole province to see farmland values decline in the first half of this year, dropping 1.9% according to a Farm Credit Canada report released Octover 7. This represented an acceleration in value declines from last year, and contributed to a 3.9% decline in the 12 montsh ended June 30. The drop follows on a 1.7% decline last year, which Farm Credit Canada attributed to tougher times in the fruit sector. However, the mid-year report points to a broader slowdown in value growth diven by higher production costs, tighter margins and uncertainty around trade, tariffs and international markets.

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Ndp

3 weeks ago

Channels of communication remain open between the provincial and federal governments with respect to financial relief for extraordinary costs stemming from this summer's ongoing drought and wildfires, but the BC Cattlemen's Association is urging producers to register for AgriStability to position themselves for any AgriRecovery package. "Hardworking families in the ranching and agriculture sectors, who provide food for the province, need the AgriRecovery program in place as soon as possible," says BC Cattlemen's president Alex Kuchar. But the provincial election creates an unfortunate delay. "It's not fair, in any form of the word, to see all those people who have lost so much in the fires to have to wait in limbo," says BC Cattlemen's general manager Kevin Boon.

Photo | Barb Edmonson / Firefly Ranch, Clinton

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Feedback on changes to rules governing food processing in the Agricultural Land Reserve has drawn about 250 submissions. But the proposal now hangs in the balance with Premier David Eby's decision to call a snap election, which also delays discussions of assistance for farmers hit hard by this year's wildfires and historic #BCAght.

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What would you expect from the NDP, when they still had a 2 year mandate?

Ridiculous timing. We have people needing answers and have to plan for winter supplies. Fires are long past, months have gone by knowing there was going to be the need for support. Drought was written on the wall even before summer began with no snow pack. This is not new to government and they are calling for another year just as bad for 2027. I throw my hands up and wonder what else needs to be more challenging than what we've experienced over the last 6 years in BC?

250 submissions.... I'm pretty sure there are more than 250 farmers in BC