By Thomas I. Likness
EBC Edmonton Bureau

EDMONTON (Eagle News) — Mexico will again allow temporary farm workers to take jobs in Canada following an agreement with the Canadian government to improve safety conditions on farms, the Mexican government said Sunday.

Last Tuesday, the Mexican government said it would stop sending workers to Canada following the deaths of two workers from COVID-19. Corona virus outbreaks had been reported on 17 farms in Southern Ontario. Since then, a third Mexican national working on an Ontario farm has died from COVID-19,

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged safety rules have not always been followed but pledged to change that.

“So we’ll continue working with Mexico and other countries to ensure that the systems are in pace, that their citizens are protected while they’re working here,” Trudeau promised Monday.

Trudeau said companies where the dead men were employed will pay a price for not following safety guidelines.

“We are extremely concerned by that and there will be consequences for companies that did not follow the rules designed to protect workers in Canada,” said Trudeau. “Obviously in the cases of these three tragic deaths, that wasn’t the case and we are ensuring that changes are made and that there will be consequences.”

About 60,000 seasonal workers, mostly from Latin America and the Caribbean, work on Canadian farms planting and harvesting crops.

(Eagle News Service)