Employers are reminded of the following change to housing requirements for 2026.  Effective Immediately – As per section 2.6 of the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) contracts, all employer-provided housing must include, “… secure, exterior locking doors and windows…”. The Integrity Service Branch will be looking for this during inspections.

To maintain consistency in farm worker housing in British Columbia for SAWP and Ag Stream, the housing inspection standard for Western Agricultural Labour Initiative (WALI) is being updated to include this wording. Employers are also reminded that the way doors and windows are secured must not violate any other regulations (e.g. Fire Code) or housing requirements (e.g. provide adequate ventilation).

 
*From the 2026 SAWP contracts, section 2.6 – [The Employer agrees to] Provide secure exterior locking doors and windows on EMPLOYER-provided accommodations, with door keys or numeric code provided to WORKERS, at no cost to the WORKER. In the case of loss of keys, a reasonable cost for replacement shall be agreed upon between the EMPLOYER and WORKER and shall not exceed $10.00.

These rules apply to all Canadian employers in SAWP.

Source:  Western Agricultural Labour Initiative March 6, 2026 members’ note