Temporary foreign workers have begun arriving in New Brunswick for another season of work in the fields and the fish plants.
The Higgs government introduced new COVID-19 guidelines this spring which requires all workers to quarantine individually as opposed to being in groups.
Lisa Ashworth, president of the New Brunswick Agricultural Alliance, says her group has been lobbying the province to change its mind.
“So we’re quite concerned about mental health as much as physical health with these seasonal employees in a country which is not their home country and the food is different etcetera. And then they are all on their own.”
Ashworth says this change will mean added costs for producers – such as for hotel rooms and food – estimated at roughly $6300 per worker.
“We’re doing what we can to figure out how we can make it slightly affordable or some people will be going without their workers this year.”
Ashworth notes the province has been unwilling to listen to industry stakeholders and she adds the government doesn’t prioritize agriculture like its provincial neighbours do.
Ashworth believes the province should manage quarantining facilities themselves instead of placing the responsibility on farmers.
She notes how farmers were already prepared to safely house the workers they employ.
