Category: Uncategorized

Farm Workers

Migrant Farmworkers United: October 2025 Newsletter

👋🏿 Welcome to the latest newsletter! Here you will find news and activities for migrant farm workers this October.

Have news, ideas, or questions?
✅ Message Kit on WhatsApp: 905-324-2840

📰 News

  • 🎤︎︎🎶 September 8: Congratulations to all participants in the karaoke contest in NOTL! Philip won best performance 🏆
  • 📣 September 20: Over 20,000 people took action in 70 cities across Canada to send a message to PM Carney and demand:
    • Respect Indigenous rights
    • Stop arming genocide
    • Permanent immigration status for all
    • End the era of fossil fuels
    • Protect public services

🗓️ Events & Actions

  • October 5: MWAC organizers visit Leamington and Kingsville. Message Kit on WhatsApp to link up: 905-324-2840
  • October 7-8: MWAC organizers visit Tillsonburg and Simcoe. Want to connect? Message Kit on WhatsApp: 905-324-2840
  • October 26: Online info session about end-of-season rights for seasonal workers. Message Kit to sign up: 905-324-2840

👥 Meetings

  • September 29, 8pm: Monthly farmworker members meeting. 📍Online
  • October 27, 8pm: Monthly farmworker members meeting. 📍Online

Want to join a meeting in October and help shape the farm work program for future generations? We’d love to see you! Just send a WhatsApp message to Kit at 905-324-2840.

✅ Stay up-to-date

⚠️ Report abuse & unsafe work

If you face disrespect, abuse, or unsafe work or housing:
Try to get proof if you can. You have rights!
Without proof, your options are limited.

Need support?
Message Kit privately on WhatsApp at 905-324-2840.
Everything you share is confidential. You’re not alone.

United, we are stronger!

Farm Workers

Support Eric’s Recovery

He fed Canadians for 18 years. Now he needs our support.

Eric is a 52-year-old father of four from Jamaica who has spent nearly two decades living and working in Norfolk County, putting food on Canadians’ tables.

But now Eric is fighting for his life. He has survived three strokes – the first in 2022, another in May 2025, and the most recent at the end of July 2025. After his stroke in May, Eric struggled to keep up in the fields under the hot sun and lost his job, leaving him without income for rent, food, or medication. His most recent stroke left him unable to swallow. He now relies on a feeding tube and urgently needs a suction device to breathe and eat safely.

Ontario’s Assistive Devices Program will cover 75% of the cost, but Eric must pay the remaining amount up front. He also needs feeding bags, a blender to prepare food himself, plus ongoing medications. Having given up his apartment when he entered hospital in July, Eric now faces discharge from the rehabilitative therapy program without a safe place to live. We are seeking to raise $10,500 to cover 6 months of living expenses (see below for breakdown of costs).

Eric is a kind, soft-spoken man who has contributed to this country for almost 20 years. Today, he is left without income, housing, or health support. This is where you come in.

👉 Donate now to help Eric cover the costs of his urgent medical equipment, food, housing, and recovery.

👉 Share this fundraiser with friends, family, neighbours, and coworkers.

👉 Support migrant farm workers’ demand for permanent status for all. Without permanent status, thousands of migrant workers like Eric are excluded from basic rights and access to life-saving care. Sign the petition: migrantworkersalliance.org/WeFeedCanada

This fundraiser is part of a larger struggle for migrant justice. We demand permanent resident status for all, so that all migrants have equal access to healthcare, housing, and family unity.

After feeding Canadians for nearly two decades, let’s make sure Eric receives the care and dignity he deserves.

Breakdown of expenses

Housing: $900/month

Medication (including insulin, test strips, and stroke prevention): ~$500/month

Phone: $50/month

Food: ~$300/month

Farm Workers

NEWS: Bad Boss Fined for Injuring Another Worker

Highline Produce faces another fine – this time for $115,000 – after another mushroom farm worker was critically injured by a netting machine at one of their facilities in Kingsville, Ontario. An investigation by the Ontario Ministry of Labour determined that proper safety measures and procedures were not in place to keep workers safe in 2023. Highline pleaded guilty to violating the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

This isn’t the first time that Highline has failed to keep workers safe. The company was fined two times in 2019 : 1) $75,000 after a worker was caught in a moving cable, and 2) $90,000 when a worker was caught and dragged into a conveyer.

This shows that fines alone do not help keep workers safe, and for bad bosses they are just another cost of doing business. Without permanent status, migrant workers are denied the tools we need to speak up about unsafe conditions and protect ourselves!

Highline Produce employs over 120 migrant workers in Ontario and has facilities in Kingsville, Leamington, and Wellington (close to Belleville, ON).

Last year in their BC facilities, nearly 400 migrant farm workers unionized. In Ontario, farm workers are excluded from the right to unionize or bargain collectively.

Unfair laws don’t stop us from uniting together to take action and win change for all migrants!

Are you a migrant farm worker?

Are you worried about unsafe conditions at work? Are you tired of being mistreated by your boss or supervisor?

You are not alone! Workers like you are uniting together to take action and win change, and we want to hear from you.

✅ Send a message to MWAC organizer Kit on WhatsApp to learn more: 905-324-2840

✅ Tap to sign the petition to demand equality, not exclusion!: migrantrights.ca/equality

United, we are stronger!

Take Action: Lindo family facing Deportation Again

More on the family’s story:

Yes Everything – On Canada Day, a family fights a deportation order

CBC News – Toronto track star with Olympic dreams faces deortation.

The Hill Times – One family’s fight to stay in Canada while feds mull making it easier for undocumented people to gain status.

CTV News- He had dreams of running for Canada in the Olympics, then he learned his family would be deported.

SportsMax – Olympic hopeful Tamarri Lindo faces deportation to Jamaica amidst Olympic dreams.

Farm Workers

Migrant Farmworkers United: September 2025 Newsletter

👋🏿 Welcome to the latest newsletter! Here you will find news and activities for migrant farm workers this September.

Have news, ideas, or questions?
✅ Message Kit on WhatsApp: 905-324-2840

📰 News

  • ⚽ On August 10, MWAC farmworker members and supporters participated in the 6th Annual Farms of Norfolk Football Tournament in Simcoe. We met new workers and handed out helpline flyers and sunglasses. We shared food and dance moves. Congratulations to the winning team, see you next year!
  • ⚠️ In mid-August, we reported a farm in Niagara for housing violations. An inspector from Niagara Region Public Health gave their prompt attention to the report and inspected the houses. Do you have bad housing conditions on your farm? Message Kit to learn about your options: 905-324-2840
  • On August 24, a migrant farmworker from Mexico named Sergio was reported missing in Tsawwassen, BC. With deep sadness, he was found deceased days later. We extend our sincere condolences and solidarity to his family, coworkers, and community. His memory will remain with us always. 
  • On August 31, farmworker members of MWAC met online to connect with workers from other farms, discuss plans, and offer encouragement to each other. During our closing time of upliftment, one of our members shared:

“Protect your mental health. It’s not easy leaving our families, we need to find ways to cope. No matter what you’re going through, you’re not alone. Reach out and connect.”

– MWAC Farmworker leader

🗓️ Events & Actions

  • 🙏🏾 September 3, 10am: Migrant justice prayer circle (Online). A monthly time for prayer, reflection, and encouragement. Everyone is welcome – join from your phone! Message Kit for the Zoom link: 905-324-2840
  • 🎤︎︎🎶 September 8, 7-9pm: Karaoke Competition Night in NOTL. Free event with food, friends, and prizes! 📍 Message Kit for location.
  • September 14, 5:30pm: Caribbean-Canadian Centre + Evening Celebration Service. Join for food and fellowship at Southridge Church in Vineland.
  • 📣 September 20, 12pm: Draw the Line global day of action in Niagara Falls.
  • September 28, 5:30pm: Join the last Caribbean-Canadian Centre for games night at Southridge Church in Vineland.

👥 Meetings

  • August 31, 8pm: Monthly farmworker members meeting 📍 Online.
  • September 29, 8pm: Monthly farmworker members meeting. 📍Online.

Want to join a meeting in September and help shape the farm work program for future generations? We’d love to see you! Just send a WhatsApp message to Kit at 905-324-2840.

✅ Stay up-to-date

⚠️ Report abuse & unsafe work

If you face disrespect, abuse, or unsafe work or housing:
Try to get proof if you can. You have rights!
Without proof, your options are limited.

Need support?
Message Kit privately on WhatsApp at 905-324-2840.
Everything you share is confidential. You’re not alone.

United, we are stronger!

Draw the Line Art Party for Status for All! 

Draw the Line Art Party for Status for All!

Join us on September 7 to make Status for All signs and banners for the Draw the Line Rally and March on September 20 in Toronto! We will paint, create art, and get ready to make our message loud and clear: Status for All!

The September 20 Draw the Line action is a big day that brings together migrant justice, Indigenous land defenders, workers and unions, anti-war and climate groups. There will be many demands, and we want to show ours too! Let’s come together and make art that represents our fight for Status for All and full rights for all migrant and undocumented people.

📅 Sunday, September 7
🕐 1–4 PM (drop in anytime)
📍 720 Spadina Ave, Second Floor, Suite 202
🍎 Snacks provided

To register for this event just fill up this form, everything you share is 100% confidential.

Toronto – March with Migrants – September 20

Are you a migrant? This is our chance to speak up for our rights and status for all!

Do you support migrants? March with migrants and help share our message!

What is this? Migrants are joining a big march on September 20 to Draw the Line for People, Peace and the Planet. Many groups will march together – Indigenous people, workers, climate activists, and anti-war groups. Migrants will be leading the march with Indigenous people. Join us to show  how migrants are in solidarity with others, and to share migrant demands. 

Details:

  • September 20 at 2pm
  • Yonge and Dundas, Toronto
  • Wear RED clothes
  • Look for the “Status for All” banner

Why join? When we march as migrants, we show our struggles and our strength. We teach other people about what migrants face. Together with other groups fighting for justice, our voices become much stronger and louder. No one can win, until all of us win.

Farm Workers

Migrant Farmworkers United: August 2025 Newsletter

👋🏿 Welcome to the latest newsletter! Here you will find news and activities for migrant farm workers this August.

Have news, ideas, or questions?
✅ Message Kit on WhatsApp: 905-324-2840

📰 News

  • 📣​ Migrant workers speak out to expose secret government plan: Did you see farm workers speaking up in the Canadian news? Check it out!

The Canadian government plans changes to the farm work program that will impact you and your family. For more information, and to see how farm workers like you are responding to these changes – tap here to check out this informative post on Facebook.

👀 Tap the photos below to read the full articles and see what farm workers are saying:


🗓️ Events & Actions

  • 🙏🏾 August 6, 10am: Migrant justice prayer circle (Online). A monthly time for prayer, reflection, and encouragement. Everyone is welcome – join from your phone! Message Kit for the Zoom link: 905-324-2840
  • ⚽ August 10, 9am-4pm: 6th Annual Farms of Norfolk Football Association. 📍660 West St. Soccer Fields, Simcoe.
  • 🎶 August 11, 7-9pm: Open Doors Night in NOTL. Chill monthly space to hang out, relax off the farm, and connect with friends. Games, giveaways, and more! 📍 Message Kit for location.
  • 🍗 August 24: Bridges Niagara Migrant Workers Appreciation Day & BBQ. 📍 Virgil Farmworker Hub. Need a ride? Message Kit: 905-324-2840.

👥 Meetings

  • 🎊 August 17, 7-8pm: Annual MWAC Members’ Assembly. Every year, members from all sectors – farmworkers, careworkers, students, & workers without papers – come together to celebrate our wins and build strength for the fight ahead. 📍Online. Message Kit for sign up: 905-324-2840
  • August 31, 7:30pm: Monthly farmworker members meeting. 📍Online & in-person. Message Kit for location.

Want to join a meeting in August and help shape the farm work program for future generations? We’d love to see you! Just send a WhatsApp message to Kit at 905-324-2840.

✅ Stay up-to-date

⚠️ Report abuse & unsafe work

If you face disrespect, abuse, or unsafe work or housing:
Try to get proof if you can. You have rights!
Without proof, your options are limited.

Need support?
Message Kit privately on WhatsApp at 905-324-2840.
Everything you share is confidential. You’re not alone.

United, we are stronger!

Care Workers

Workshop & Meeting for Migrant Care Workers Waiting for or Denied PR

WHAT: Workshop and Meeting for Migrant Care Workers to:

  • Learn about your immigration options
  • Discuss how being denied Permanent Residency has affected us​
  • Come up with strategies and plans to tell the new Minister of Immigration to ensure permanent resident status for all Migrant Care Workers.

WHEN: Sunday, August 3, 1:00 PM

WHERE: Toronto (exact location shared after RSVP)

FREE LUNCH & POTLUCK: This meeting will include free lunch, but it’s a potluck, feel free to bring snacks, but not required

Why should you join the meeting on August 3?

On March 31, 2025, the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilot opened — and closed just 4.5 hours later. Thousands of Migrant Care Workers like you who had prepared for months were left out. Others could not apply because of the difficult and exclusionary rules.

Some of us Migrant Care Workers couldn’t access the portal, or others applied using the alternate form but have already received denial emails.

Did this happen to you?

  • Website crashed while applying?
  • Paid for the application, English tests, transcripts, or translations or other documents but couldn’t apply?
  • Having trouble getting a refund?
  • Losing your status — or already lost it?
  • Couldn’t even apply because of unfair rules?

You’re not alone — and it’s not your fault. The system failed you. Now it’s time to come together. We need to raise our voices and make sure that all of us have Permanent Residency so we can be with our families and live with safety and security.

Let’s turn frustration into action — and make sure no one is left behind again.

Fill out this form to get the address, and please share this with others who were left out.

Farm Workers

Migrant Farmworkers United: July 2025 Newsletter

👋🏿 Welcome to the latest newsletter! Here you will find news and activities for migrant farm workers this July.

Have news or ideas?
✅ Message Kit on WhatsApp: 905-324-2840

📰 News

  • 🏆 Cricket tournament winners: Congratulations to Coach Prophet, Captain Chris, and the Niagara Clippers team for their win over the Vineland Lions on June 8. Captain Collin and the Lions team played a great match. Thank you CWOP for organizing another successful tournament!
  • 🗣️✊🏾 Farm workers show up for care workers!: On June 16, a group of migrant care workers protested at the immigration building in Toronto to demand Status For All. Farm workers made signs to show their support (see photos below).
  • 📣​ Farm workers speak out: Our survey about changes to the farm worker program wrapped up and WOW – we heard from over 500 farm and fishery workers like you from across the country, great job! 💪🏽 We created a report based on your responses (always anonymous) and will be sharing full results in the coming weeks.
    • 81.25% demand immediate permanent resident status for all
    • 83.55% of migrant workers report that current wages are not enough to support family
    • 66% report poor or very bad housing conditions
  • 🥵 Farm workers speak out AGAIN!: During last week’s heat warning in Ontario, workers like you shared what they’re going through and demanded heat protections. Check it out on our Facebook page or Instagram.

🗓️ Events & Actions

  • 🙏🏾 July 9, 10am: Migrant justice prayer circle (Online). A monthly time for prayer, reflection, and encouragement. Everyone is welcome – join from your phone! Message Kit for the Zoom link.
  • ⚽ July 13, 10am: En Lace football tournament. Let’s cheer on our Mexican comrades! Veterans Memorial Park, NOTL. Message Kit for transportation.
  • July 14, 7-9pm: Open Doors Night in NOTL. Chill monthly space to hang out, relax off the farm, and connect with friends. Games, giveaways, and more! 📍 Message Kit for location.
  • 💒 July 27, 6pm: Caribbean-Canadian Centre + church service. 📍 Southridge Church, Vineland.

Want to join in? Message Kit at 905-324-2840.

👥 Meetings

  • July 20, 1-4pm: Annual MWAC Members’ Assembly. Every year, members from all sectors – farmworkers, careworkers, students, & workers without papers – come together to celebrate our wins and build strength for the fight ahead. 📍Toronto. Message Kit for sign up.
  • July 27: Emancipation Day celebration and farmworker members meeting. 📍 Lakeside Park, St Catharines.

Want to join a meeting in July and help shape the future of farm work? We’d love to see you! Just send a WhatsApp message to Kit at 905-324-2840.

✅ Stay up-to-date

⚠️ Report abuse & unsafe work

If you face disrespect, abuse, or unsafe work or housing:
Try to get proof if you can. You have rights.
Without proof, your options are limited.

Need support?
Message Kit privately on WhatsApp at 905-324-2840.
Everything you share is confidential. You’re not alone.

United, we are stronger!