2021 Reports 12 to 15 of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of CanadaTemporary foreign workers in Canada’s agricultural sector left vulnerable by department’s pandemic inspections

Ottawa, 9 December 2021—Today, a report from Auditor General Karen Hogan, tabled in the House of Commons, concludes that the inspections conducted by Employment and Social Development Canada provided little assurance that the health and safety of temporary foreign workers in Canada’s agricultural sector were protected during the pandemic.

“Overall, we found that the Employment and Social Development Canada’s inspections—whether they targeted quarantine, outbreaks or basic living conditions—provided little assurance that the health and safety of temporary foreign workers were protected during the 2020 and 2021 growing seasons”, said Ms. Hogan.

The audit found significant problems in the quality and rigor of these inspections conducted to verify whether employers followed requirements put in place to protect temporary foreign workers in Canada’s agricultural sector during the pandemic. For example, inspectors frequently deemed employers as compliant with COVID‑19 requirements despite having little or no evidence to demonstrate this. The Auditor General informed the department of these shortcomings in December 2020, and extended the period covered by the audit into 2021. Nonetheless, the situation worsened: in 2021, 88% of quarantine inspections examined were problematic, up from 73% in 2020. Timeliness was also a concern, with many quarantine inspections remaining incomplete and inactive long after the end of workers’ mandatory 14‑day quarantine period.

Inspections of outbreaks showed similar problems and brought little assurance that employers provided sick or symptomatic workers with accommodations that allowed them to properly isolate. The audit also found that Employment and Social Development Canada’s inspections of basic living conditions throughout the season—things like running water and occupancy levels, again fell short, with inspectors collecting no information in almost all cases yet finding employers compliant. Basic living conditions take on even more importance in the pandemic context of social distancing and disinfection protocols.

“These findings point to a systemic problem across the department’s inspection regime that needs immediate attention”, said Ms. Hogan. “It’s long past time to fix the situation for temporary foreign workers in Canada.”

The 2021 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada, Report 13—Health and Safety of Agricultural Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada During the COVID-19 Pandemic is available on the Office of the Auditor General of Canada website

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