AWA Virgil and Simcoe Offices host their Annual Open Houses

AWA Virgil and Simcoe Offices host their Annual Open Houses

On July 8^th and July 10^th the AWA Offices of Simcoe and Virgil respectively held their annual Open Houses in order to welcome migrant farm workers from the Caribbean, Mexico, Guatemala and other countries back into their regions for the 2011 season.

Both centres had an amazing turn out of worker at their events. Virgil’s event was also highlighted by the participation of OPRIG, CUPE Local from Brock University and by the presence of Father Hernan Astudillo from San Lorenzo’s Anglican Church in Toronto. The festivities culminated with Father Astudillo celebrating a service for the workers at the end of the event.

The AWA team would like to thank UFCW Canada Local 175/633 for providing the centres with their BBQ trailer.

Workers pose for a group picture at the AWA Simcoe Centre

Banner displayed at the AWA Virgil Centre

Visit our web site for more pictures of these two events and many more.

AWA - Virgil Office Open House

Migrant workers applaud Grapes of Wrath

Recently, fact met fiction when two dozen migrant farm workers in southern Ontario attended a theatre performance of The Grapes of Wrath at the Stratford Festival. The play is adapted from John Steinbech's acclaimed 1939 American novel of the same name, which went on to win both a Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize for Literature for its portrayal of the abuse and hardship faced by migrant farm workers during the Great Depression.

Read more here.

Migrant workers rally for human rights on Father’s Day

Migrant workers from Mexico and the Caribbean gathered under the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA) banner on June 19 in Toronto and Kelowna, B.C., to rally for their rights and to “celebrate” another Father’s Day apart from their families.

To read the full story and see pictures of the event click here.

Migrant Scholarship Winners Announced

Five extraordinary students from across the globe are the first-ever recipients of the UFCW Canada Migrant Workers Scholarships.

Launched in May 2010, the UFCW Canada’s Migrant Workers Scholarships program generated over 4,000 applications from temporary foreign workers in Canada, who under the unique scholarship program can nominate their children, grandchildren, sisters, brothers, or nieces, and nephews as scholarship applicants.

Read the full story here.

SUPREME COURT OF CANADA -- JUDGMENTS TO BE RENDERED IN APPEALS

OTTAWA,  2011-04-26.  THE  SUPREME  COURT  OF  CANADA  ANNOUNCED  TODAY  THAT  JUDGMENT  IN  THE  FOLLOWING  APPEAL  WILL  BE  DELIVERED  AT 

9:45  A.M.  EDT  ON  FRIDAY,  APRIL  29,  2011.

FROM:  SUPREME  COURT  OF  CANADA  (613) 995-4330

OTTAWA,  2011-04-26.  LA  COUR  SUPRÊME  DU  CANADA  A  ANNONCÉ  AUJOURD’HUI  QUE  JUGEMENT  SERA  RENDU  DANS  L’APPEL  SUIVANT 

LE  VENDREDI  29  AVRIL  2011,  À  9h45  HAE.

SOURCE:  COUR  SUPRÊME  DU  CANADA  (613) 995-4330

Attorney General of Ontario v. Michael J. Fraser on his own behalf and on behalf of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Canada et al. (Ont.) (32968)

Read the London Free Press Article on this story.

Another transportation accident, another worker dead

A minibus transporting migrant workers had a road accident April 18 afternoon on Highway 20 near Montmagny in Quebec killing one Guatemalan agricultural worker and leaving 7 others seriously injured.

Read more about this story here: The Gazette, Montreal or CBC News

Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) Publishes Studies on Migrant Workers Health

Jenna Hennebry PhD from the International Migration Research Centre at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo and Kerry Preibisch PhD from the University of Guelph wrote the first study published in the CMAJ Monday. The second study was written by Dr. Michael Pysklywec, Janet McLaughlin PhD, Michelle Tew RN and Dr. Ted Haines.

Both studies highlight the health problems that migrant workers, especially those in the agriculture industry, encounter while working on the fields of Canada. A lot of the issues highlighted were related to housing and labour conditions along with language barriers.

Read the first study.
Read the second study.

Read media articles about this story: The Toronto Star or The Canadian Press

A new coalition is formed in British Columbia to protect migrant workers

Raul Gatica from the AWA – Surrey is part of a newly formed coalition of 12 provincial advocacy organizations working with agricultural migrant workers. 

"The Coalition for Migrant Workers Justice B.C." aims to give voice to the thousand of migrant workers that arrive in that province to harvest the food around issues of health, working and housing conditions.

Read more about this story here: The Vancouver Sun

OLAS's "Sounds of Solidarity: Voices of the Migrants" Event

Thursday April 21, 2011
JJR Macleod Auditorium, University of Toronto
1 Kings College Circle
6:30 PM
Come out and support UFCW Canada and the Organization of Latin American Students as they fundraise. The money raised will be used by OLAS to buy the following and other merchandise:

• Proper winter clothing.
• Bicycles to travel to and from the workplace (many of the workers do not live near their workplace and bicycles are the main form of transportation among migrants.)
• Information packages to educate the migrant workers on their rights and the services they have access to (to prevent exploitation).

For more information visit the OLAS Facebook Page