B.C. farmers say they’re falling behind on the season as they grapple with a shortage of between 6,000 and 8,000 workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Terry Michell, owner-operator of Michell’s Farm in Saanichton, says he has half a million plants still waiting to get in the ground, along with backlogs on weeding and irrigation. “It’s highly skilled farm labour,” he said. “We have six of our foreign workers out of 20.” Another 11 of Michell’s temporary foreign workers (TFW) workers landed at Vancouver International Airport on Friday, but will have to spend two weeks in quarantine before they can hit the fields.
The federal government exempted foreign workers from COVID-19 travel restrictions in April, provided they isolate for 14 days on