File photo
By Lyonel Doherty
Aberdeen Publishing
It was bad news and then it was good news for fruit growers in Oliver and Osoyoos in the wake of COVID-19.
Initially, growers were very concerned that they would not have access to temporary foreign workers due to the border closures.
Glen Lucas, general manager of the BC Fruit Growers Association (BCFGA), said there was a travel ban on visitors from other countries, including the 4,000 foreign workers from Mexico and the Caribbean that come to the Okanagan every year to help with crop production and harvest.
But federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced on Wednesday that temporary foreign workers will be exempt from the ban and allowed to enter Canada after a 14-day isolation period.
“The announcement is a great relief, but there are many details to work through,” Lucas said.
He added the BCFGA understands the stringent health protocols that the government has put in place to “level the curve” of COVID-19 cases.
He noted there was a possibility for some local unemployed people to work on farms. But he added the BCFGA doesn’t want to contribute to increased risk of spread of the disease.
BCFGA president Pinder Dhaliwal could not be reached for comment.
Under Blair’s directive, foreigners with a work visa and temporary foreign workers will be able to enter Canada, despite the closing of the borders (granted they undergo isolation).
The Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) relished the exemption, saying that preventing foreign workers from entering Canada would have had disastrous results for the agricultural industry in Canada.
