Jamaican Minister of Labour visit jointly looks to celebrate, cement 60-year SAWP relationship
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Jeff Tribe
Advocate Contributor
The question was, was Jamaica’s Minister of Labour and Social Security visiting Canada to celebrate the 60th anniversary of his nation’s participation in the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), or begin building on the next 60 years?
And the answer was ‘Yes.’
“I think the celebration of the 60th anniversary is the foundation of cementing and expanding the relationship,” responded the Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., JP, after touching down at Pearson International Airport in Toronto Thursday, July 20. “And also the importance we place on our workers and their welfare.”
Welcomed by a party including Jamaican High Commissioner to Canada Marsha Coore Lobban, Consul General of Jamaica in Toronto Kurt Davis, and Jamaican Liaison Service (JLS) Chief Liaison Officer Althea Riley, Charles Jr. in turn met 100-plus Jamaican SAWP participants at Pearson’s International Arrivals gate, leading an informal parade to a nearby roped-off area, miniature Jamaican flags waving.
A short ceremony there featured the presence of and remarks from the Hon. Charmaine Williams, MPP and Associate Minister of Women’s Social & Economic Opportunity; MPP Mohamed Firin, Parliamentary Assistant to the Ontario Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training & Skills Development; President and Vice-President of Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Services (F.A.R.M.S.) Robert Shuh and Andy Vergeer, respectively, and representatives from Service Canada, the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, CanAg Travel Services and JN Money Services.
In his address, Charles Jr. emphasized the workers’ position as ambassadors for their nation and the value Jamaica places on their contributions.
The welcome concluded with very Canadian treats, the workers began boarding buses destined for farms across Ontario including those in Norfolk County. The minister and Jamaican officials were looking forward to related celebrations and events at Collingwood the following day; Sunday, July 26 at Strawberry Tyme Farms, a fourth-generation strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and other plant operation located along St. John’s Road west of Simcoe; and onward to destinations including Ottawa and Kelowna, B.C.
The minister’s visit and attendant events emphasize the importance his nation puts on both the SAWP program and the related ongoing relationship, said Charles Jr.
Jamaican workers formed SAWP’s first wave six decades ago and roughly 10,000 continue to come to Canada annually through it and other programs in what Jamaican Liaison Service Chief Liaison Officer Althea Riley familiarly calls a ‘win-win’ scenario. Canadian farmers receive access to a dependable, quality source of labour, a critical and potentially irreplaceable component whose importance was highlighted by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s June 11, 2026 National Food Strategy launch.
Jamaican workers are an integrated and critical part of the mechanism supporting and sustaining Canadian food production and quality concurred Charles Jr.
In short, Norfolk County would not be ‘Ontario’s Garden’ without labour sourced from temporary foreign workers.
Conversely, the wages Jamaican workers earn contribute significantly to foreign remittances which represent the second line item in Jamaica’s economy, behind only tourism. Program participants gain structured work, revenue and exposure to experience and skills, said the minister.
“That benefit the workers and their families in numerous ways.”
Education and health care for workers’ children are familiar destinations for their income, Charles Jr. continued.
“And other opportunities that otherwise would have been challenging.”
Worker welfare remains front of mind for Jamaica’s Ministry of Labour and Social Security, represented by the JLS as its operational arm in Canada. The service fulfils basic and more complicated functions including welcoming workers upon their arrival, regular site visits, providing 24/7 emergency contact, services for family members in Jamaica, and mediation in the event of dispute.
“The JLS is a highly-official, well-structured, coordinated mechanism to ensure our workers receive proper support and their welfare continues to be a priority,” said Charles Jr.
It also has a domestic function, striving to ensure programs are a mutually-beneficial fit for both employees and destination farms.
“Back home we have expanded our orientation process to make sure we are finding the right workers and providing support to work in this environment,” said Charles Jr.
Jamaica is also an active participant in annual multi-nation reviews featuring a range of program stakeholders, assessing the previous year’s operational successes and challenges, and investigating potential changes. Yearly review creates a platform for dialogue around evolving issues, said Charles Jr.
“It is an acknowledgement of the natural evolution that takes place. It provides an opportunity for stakeholders to assess and adjust where necessary.”