WHEREAS rising housing costs and low vacancy rates are limiting the supply of affordable housing in British Columbia; AND WHEREAS these housing costs and vacancy rates are impediments to resolving the farm labour shortage and are forcing agricultural employers to turn to seasonal workers and provide housing in accordance with the guidelines of SAWP Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities request that the provincial and federal governments institute a subsidy or grant program for agricultural employers, to encourage the design and construction of farm worker accommodation on ALR lands.
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND LANDS The Ministry of Agriculture and Lands recognizes the imperative of dealing with the farm labour shortage in British Columbia. A balance is needed to preserve farmland for farming, provide affordable housing options, and ensure safe, high quality housing accommodation. The Province of British Columbia is not currently considering grants to design and construct farm worker accommodation on Agricultural Land Reserve lands. The Ministry of Agriculture and Lands is taking several steps to address the issues raised by this resolution. These include: -Continuing support of the Western Agriculture Labour Initiative; -The development of a Seasonal Worker Housing Standard for adoption by local governments; -A review of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program SAWP Housing Guidelines; -The design of a mid-season housing inspection system; -The expansion of the SAWP to include the Commonwealth Caribbean countries; and -The development of new temporary foreign worker programs beyond the SAWP.
CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION CANADA Citizenship and Immigration Canada CIC is only responsible for assessing applications for a work permit under the Seasonal Agricultural Work Program and the Pilot Project for Occupations Requiring Lower Levels of Formal Training NOC C and D. We are not responsible for enforcing conditions of employment or housing once the workers arrive in Canada. That responsibility lies with provincial authorities and Human Resources and Social Development Canada HRSDC. In Budget 2007, 50.5M was made available for improvements to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program TFWP. The bulk of these funds are allocated to HRSDC. A part of these monies will be used to establish a monitoring and compliance framework to help ensure that employers meet the terms of employment contracts and that TFWP integrity is maintained. CIC is working with HRSDC to develop the framework but the monitoring and compliance activities will be the responsibility of the HRSDC.