The federal government has announced a pilot program to help agriculture companies hire and retain foreign workers.
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau made the announcement at the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers office in Leamington on Tuesday.
She says the three-year pilot program will help companies with the workers, who can come here and work towards being a permanent resident.
Starting in January 2020, up to 2,750 migrant workers can apply to the program.
"We will offer these individuals a path to permanent residency in Canada, so that those who come here, and remain in this country, can contribute to our economy for the long term," said Bibeau.
After three years of working in Canada, the workers and their families can stay.
Farming organizations across the country say they still have trouble recruiting Canadians to work in the agriculture industry.
Ryan Koeslag, the CEO of Mushrooms Canada, says only about 73 per cent of their workforce is Canadian.
"In 2017, Canadian mushroom farms had a 9.7 per cent vacancy rate, job vacancy rate and it has now climbed to 19.3," noted Koeslag.
Koeslag tells CTV News in their industry alone, producers are throwing away 23 per cent of their produce because there aren't enough workers to harvest it.
It’s estimated there are over 16,000 unfilled jobs in the ag sector in Canada.
Stats Canada also reports the agri-food industry contributes more than $110 billion a year to Canada's economy.
The federal government says this program is meant to sustain that growth.
