The quarantine program for temporary foreign workers (TFWs) ends March 31, says the British Columbia ministry of agriculture, food and fisheries. The program was unique among Canadian provinces in paying for quarantining of workers upon arrival and looking after their needs for two weeks before they travelled to employers’ farms.  

The ministry notes that 97 per cent of incoming workers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Arriving workers will travel directly to their farms and it will be the employer’s responsibility to ensure federal quarantine requirements are met for those who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

Support for the self-isolation of TFWs through the B.C. Farm Worker Safe Isolation Program will continue to be available to farmers. The program reimburses employers to a maximum of $3,000 per farm worker, based on a 14-day isolation period, for costs associated with providing accommodation and other supports to workers who need to self-isolate.

The provincially funded quarantine program represented a $47-million investment to help protect B.C.’s food security during the pandemic. 

More than 15,000 workers went through the program with 233 workers diagnosed with COVID-19 while in quarantine. The program played an important role in preventing workers with symptoms from travelling to farms and communities or causing larger outbreaks, as well as preventing associated economic losses and interruptions to the B.C. food supply.

Quick facts:

-  The B.C. Farm Worker Safe Isolation Program is a federal-provincial program funded by B.C.’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, and the Public Health Agency of Canada.

-  The program runs until March 31, 2023.

-  All farms providing housing to temporary foreign workers are required to have an infection control and prevention protocol in place prior to worker arrival.

-  B.C. anticipates returning to pre-pandemic numbers for seasonal agricultural temporary foreign workers in 2022, which is approximately 11,000 workers.

Source: BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries March 30, 2022 news release