For decades, migrant farmworkers in Canada have contributed to the Employment Insurance (EI) system without being able to access the benefits they helped fund.
That’s according to the advocacy group Justice for Farmworkers.
Many of these workers, employed under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), are tied to a single employer and must return to their home countries at the end of each season.
We spoke with Chris Ramsaroop regarding a decision made on February 23rd by Justice Edward Morgan of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that certified a class action lawsuit against the federal government, a decision advocates say could finally address decades of systemic inequities.
The lawsuit challenges the structural barriers within SAWP, highlighting four main issues: the requirement for workers to return home at the end of each season, employer-specific permits that limit mobility, the denial of EI benefits despite contributions, and systemic discrimination embedded in the program since its inception.
Justice Morgan’s decision also underscores the program’s discriminatory origins.
In 1966, the Minister of Immigration explicitly noted that Europeans could not be bound to these contracts, yet Black Caribbean workers were tightly controlled through employer-specific contracts.
Some federal arguments against granting EI benefits cite workers’ absence from Canada and their tied work permits as barriers to access.
Advocates counter that this is unjust, particularly in times of crisis.
Beyond financial compensation, the case highlights the broader societal contribution of migrant workers.
The class action aims to secure permanent status upon arrival, equal EI access, and compensation for past contributions.
Approximately 75,000 current and former SAWP workers could benefit from the lawsuit, a milestone that advocates say may finally begin to rectify long-standing inequities in Canada’s treatment of migrant labor.