BLOOMFIELD, P.E.I. —The executive director of the P.E.I. Seafood Processors Association says the industry is appreciative of an extensive lobbying effort which led to the Government of Canada agreeing to exemptions in air travel restrictions so that temporary foreign workers (TFWs) can come to Canada to work in the seafood and agri-food sectors.
“It’s huge,” Jerry Gavin said in explaining what the exemption means. “At least 30 per cent of the workforce is temporary foreign workers.”
Not having access to those workers, he said, would threaten the operation of the seafood processing plants in P.E.I. and across Atlantic Canada.
The exemptions were announced Friday night.
Egmont MP Bobby Morrissey said Atlantic Canadian MPs were seeking exemptions even before Canada closed its border to international travel last week due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. He said many employers would have filed their Labour Market Impact Assessments with the federal government, detailing their need for TFWs, by December.
A decision was made on March 20 that, “in order to safeguard the continuity of trade, commerce, health and food security for all Canadians, temporary foreign workers in agricultural, agri-food, seafood processing and other key industries will be allowed to travel to Canada under exemptions being put in place to air travel restrictions that took effect on March 18.”
Temporary Foreign workers will be screened in their home country and will not be permitted to board a plane if they exhibit symptoms of the virus. Additionally, they will need to self-isolate in Canada for two weeks prior to commencing their employment.
“The dialogue should be, ‘are there steps the fishers can take that can ease pressure on the market situation?’ We are in sort of unprecedented times right now."
Morrissey said the employer has a vested interest in making sure the workers coming in are safe to come to work, “because they do not want somebody in their plant testing positive for COVID -19."
“They have to be much more vigilant here than most.”
Gavin agrees the two-week self-isolation requirement for the TFWs does present a challenge for the fish plants because those workers are needed to be here and ready to work for the start of the lobster fishing season on the first of May.
Processing plants, some working together, have commenced arrangements for charter flights to bring the workers in, he said.
“There is still a lot of work to be done over the next little while to see how, collectively, we all get through this.”
Morrissey noted many students secure employment in the fish plants and thereby qualify for employment insurance to help fund their university education. He agrees with Gavin that the TFWs help prop up the production level of the plants and helps secure jobs for Islanders, including students.
“Certainly, the association is very appreciative of the efforts everybody put in to make it happen,” Gavin said of the exemption.
“There is still a lot of work to be done over the next little while,” he acknowledged, “to see how, collectively, we all get through this.”
Time for frank discussions
Even with the TFW situation being resolved, Morrissey suggested there still needs to be frank dialogues within the fishing community and possibly led by the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association and the Maritime Fishermen’s Union.
“The dialogue should be, ‘are there steps the fishers can take that can ease pressure on the market situation?’ We are in sort of unprecedented times right now,” he said.
Asked if he is referring to a reduction in product, he replied, “I will leave it to them to decide. This is a valuable product. If it stays in the water, the value is not lost.”
While Morrissey agreed the market could recover from the economic downturn the coronavirus has caused in the global marketplace, he suggested industry should, at least, initiate some discussion. “We are only six weeks away from the opening of the largest lobster season in Atlantic Canada,” he stressed.
