Our History

In April 2001, a small group of us formerly associated with the labour movement travelled to Leamington, Ontario, to investigate a serious labour dispute among Mexican migrant workers. The labour dispute had resulted in the early repatriation of over 20 workers. Identifying workers from the farm in question proved quite difficult due to fear and trust factors. However, workers from other farms eagerly voiced a plethora of problems and concerns. The workers’ response to the investigative mission was overwhelming and positive. Workers explained that they seldom had a chance to be heard and that their daily struggles were ignored. Throughout various investigative missions in Leamington and outreach to Caribbean migrant workers in other areas, it became clear that migrant agricultural workers were acutely neglected in Canada.

Grassroots organizing drew the attention of several government officials, and documentation conducted by volunteers formed the basis of the Migrant Farm Workers in Canada 2001 Report, which was presented to the Minister of Labour. Relationships of trust and contacts in various regions throughout rural Ontario convinced us of the necessity to continue community organizing in rural Ontario. In the summer of 2002, we formed Justicia for Migrant Workers (J4MW). We hope to broaden our work to contribute to a strong agricultural workers’ movement through the unity of SAW and non-SAW program participants.

We are not the first group to attend to this cause. There have been numerous attempts to organize migrant farm workers throughout the decades in Canada. We are committed to sustaining this work and engaging with the challenges of organizing with migrant farm workers.