In this policy commentary, I highlight opportunities to advance equity and dignity for racialized migrant workers from less affluent countries who are hired through low-wage agricultural streams of Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Core features of the program such as 'tied' work permits, non-citizenship, and workers' deportability make it risky for migrant farm workers to exercise their rights. I discuss five federal policy interventions to strengthen justice for migrant farm workers in Canada: 1) permanent resident status; 2) equal access to social protections; 3) open work permits; 4) democratic business ownership; and 5) trade policy that respects community self-determination. To realize a food system that enables health, freedom and dignity for all members of our communities, a Food Policy for Canada cannot be for Canadians alone.

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Weiler, A. M., (2025), "A food policy for Canada, but not just for Canadians: Reaping justice for migrant farm workers", HSSCommons: (DOI: 10.15353/cfs-rcea.v5i3.312)

  Copy Citation | Export metadata as... | JSON | CSV | RO-Crate | BibTex | EndNote

1. canada
2. food policy
3. migrant workers

Original publication: Weiler, Anelyse M. "A food policy for Canada, but not just for Canadians: Reaping justice for migrant farm workers." Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l'alimentation, vol. 5, no. 3, 2018, pp. 279-284. DOI: 10.15353/cfs-rcea.v5i3.312. This material has been re-published in an unmodified form on the Canadian HSS Commons with the permission of Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l'alimentation. Copyright © the author(s). Work published in CFS/RCÉA prior to and including Vol. 8, No. 3 (2021) is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY license. Work published in Vol. 8, No. 4 (2021) and after is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY-SA license. For details, see creativecommons.org/licenses/.