2021 LMIA: Hire Seasonal Agricultural Farm Worker
1. Overview
The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) allows employers to hire temporary foreign workers (TFW) when Canadians and permanent residents are not available.
These employers can hire TFWs from participating countries for a maximum period of 8 months, between January 1 and December 15, provided they are able to offer the workers a minimum of 240 hours of work within a period of 6 weeks or less.
To qualify for the SAWP, employers must meet 3 criteria:
- the TFWs hired must be citizens from Mexico or participating Caribbean countries
- production must be in specific commodity sectors
- the activity must be related to on farm primary agriculture
Primary agriculture
Primary agriculture is defined as work duties that must:
- be performed within the boundaries of a farm, nursery or greenhouse
- involve at least one activity, such as:
- operation of agricultural machinery
- boarding, care, breeding, sanitation or other handling of animals, other than fish, for the purpose of obtaining raw animal products for market
- collection, handling and assessment of those raw products, or the planting, care, harvesting or preparation of crops, trees, sod or other plants for market
- be consistent with one of these National Occupational Classification codes: 0821, 0822, 8252, 8255, 8431, 8432, and 8611
Note:
- For the 2021 SAWP season, work permits for SAWP will indicate a 9-month work duration instead of the usual 8-month duration to accommodate the quarantine period (noting that work terms cannot exceed December 15, 2021).
- Employers will continue to submit LMIAs that reflect their labour needs, which will not include the additional time to account for the quarantine period.
- While the quarantine period is considered work, for program administrative purposes, the quarantine period will not count towards the work duration for the SAWP LMIA applications.
Participating countries
The SAWP applies only to TFWs who are citizens from:
- Mexico
- Caribbean countries of:
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Barbados
- Dominica
- Grenada
- Jamaica
- Montserrat
- St. Kitts-Nevis
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago
Role of participating foreign governments
The SAWP operates according to bilateral agreements between Canada and the participating countries. The agreements outline the role of these foreign governments, which is to:
- recruit and select the TFWs,
- make sure workers have the necessary documents,
- maintain a pool of qualified workers, and
- appoint representatives to assist workers in Canada.
These governments also ensure that the men and women selected to work temporarily in Canada meet all the requirements of the SAWP. These requirements include being:
- experienced in farming,
- at least 18 years of age,
- a citizen of one of the participating countries, and
- able to satisfy the:
- Canadian immigration laws, and
- laws of the worker’s home country.
National commodity list
- apiary products
- fruits, vegetables (including canning/processing of these products if grown on the farm)
- mushrooms
- flowers
- nursery-grown trees including Christmas trees, greenhouses/nurseries
- pedigreed canola seed
- seed corn
- grains
- oil seeds
- maple syrup
- sod
- tobacco
- bovine
- dairy
- duck
- horse
- mink
- poultry
- sheep
- swine
2. Program requirements
Processing fee
LMIA processing fee does not apply to occupations:
- related to primary agriculture, and
- positions under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes 0821, 0822, 8252, 8255, 8431, 8432 and 8611
Transportation
Employers must always arrange and pay for the round-trip transportation of the temporary foreign worker (TFW). Transportation includes travel to and from their place of work in Canada and their country of residence. The transportation modes for TFWs can plane, train, boat, car, bus, etc. Employers can recover some of these costs through payroll deductions in all provinces except British Columbia. The employment contract entitled Agreement for the employment in Canada for SAWP specifies the maximum amount that employers can deduct.
Employers must keep records of all transportation costs paid for a minimum of 6 years. Records may include invoices, receipts, flight itineraries, tickets, etc. Employers can use these documents as evidence when they apply for an LMIA or for an inspection.
Day-to-day transportation
Employers must provide to the TFWs free roundtrip transportation. Employers need to ensure transportation between on-site or off-site accommodation and the workplace.
Housing
Employers must provide TFWs with adequate, suitable and affordable housing as defined by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Housing may be located on the farm or off-site. Employers must ensure that the occupancy rate for each unit does not exceed the maximum allowable occupancy rate. Employers must also ensure that sufficient accommodation is available for all TFWs. They also need to guarantee the number of accommodation places per approved housing from the date of arrival to the date of departure.
