Agricultural Stream
Agriculture sector employers can hire temporary foreign workers for a maximum period of 24 months under this stream. To qualify for this stream, employers must meet following 2 criteria:
Production must be in specific commodity sectors
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, sod, tobacco, bovine, dairy, duck, horse, mink, poultry, sheep, swine.
The job activity must be related to on-farm 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 National Occupational Classification TEER system.
Program Requirements
Transportation Cost
The employer is responsible for paying round-trip transportation cost to temporary foreign worker. This cost includes the temporary foreign worker’s transportation to and from their current country of residence. If the foreign worker is currently in Canada, the employer is also responsible for his/her transportation costs to and from their current location in Canada to the new work location in Canada.
Day-to-day transportation
Employers must provide to the TFWs, where required, no-cost transportation to and from the on-site/offsite housing location to the work location.
Housing
Employers must provide TFWs with adequate, suitable, and affordable housing. The housing can be either on-farm or off-site. Employers must ensure the occupancy of each accommodation location does not exceed the maximum occupancy permitted.
Housing Inspection
Employers are required to submit an inspection report confirming that on-farm/off-site house has been inspected by the appropriate provincial/territorial/municipal body or by an authorized private inspector with appropriate certification.
Health and Workplace Safety
The employer is required to provide private health insurance to temporary foreign worker until he/she is eligible for provincial health coverage. It an employer’s responsibility to register the temporary foreign worker with the provincial/territorial workplace safety board.
Employment contract
An employment contract must be prepared and signed by the employer and temporary foreign worker to ensure that all parties involved are aware of their rights and obligations. The temporary foreign worker must sign it before arriving in Canada.