Farm Workers in Western Canada: Injustices and Activism

Bill 6, the government of Alberta's contentious farm workers' safety legislation, sparked public debate as no other legislation has done in recent years. The Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act provides a right to work safely and a compensation system for those killed or injured at work, similar to other provinces. In nine essays, contributors to Farm Workers in Western Canada place this legislation in context. They look at the origins, work conditions, and precarious lives of farm workers in terms of larger historical forces such as colonialism, land rights, and racism. They also examine how the rights and privileges of farm workers, including seasonal and temporary foreign workers, conflict with those of their employers, and reveal the barriers many face by being excluded from most statutory employment laws, sometimes in violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Contributors: Gianna Argento, Bob Barnetson, Michael J. Broadway, Jill Bucklaschuk, Delna Contractor, Darlene A. Dunlop, Brynna Hambly (Takasugi), Zane Hamm, Paul Kennett, Jennifer Koshan, C.F. Andrew Lau, J. Graham Martinelli, Shirley A. McDonald, Robin C. McIntyre, Nelson Medeiros, Kerry Preibisch, Heidi Rolfe, Patricia Tomic, Ricardo Trumper, and Kay Elizabeth Turner.

Acknowledgements | xi Introduction | xiii Bob Barnetson and Shirley A. McDonald ONE CAPITALIST FARMS, VULNERABLE WORKERS The Political Economy of Farm Work in Alberta | 1 Bob Barnetson TWO THE PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF AN ALBERTA FARM WORKER AND ACTIVIST | 31 Darlene A. Dunlop with Shirley A. McDonald THREE GEORGIC THEMES AND MYTHS OF ENTITLEMENT IN THE LIFE WRITING OF PRAIRIE SETTLERS | 53 Shirley A. McDonald FOUR COWS, MEAT, PEOPLE The Social Effects of Migrant Meat Processors in Brooks, Alberta | 81 Michael J. Broadway FIVE A TEMPORARY PROGRAM FOR PERMANENT GAINS? Considering the Workplace Experiences of Temporary Foreign Workers in Manitoba's Hog-Processing Industry | 101 Jill Bucklaschuk SIX WORKING AWAY Exploring the Lived Experiences of Farm Owner-Operators with Off-Farm Employment in Alberta | 121 Zane Hamm SEVEN FARMING THE CONSTITUTION The Illegality of Excluding Alberta Farm Workers from Labour and Employment Legislation | 139 Jennifer Koshan, Gianna Argento, Delna Contractor, Brynna Hambly (Takasugi), Paul Kennett, C.F. Andrew Lau, J. Graham Martinelli, Robin C. McIntyre, Nelson Medeiros, Heidi Rolfe, and Kay Elizabeth Turner EIGHT BC-GROWN Examining the Place-Embeddedness of Managed Migration and Farm Labour Markets in British Columbia | 167 Kerry Preibisch NINE LABOURING IN THE "FOUR-SEASON PARADISE" Workers and Agriculture in the Okanagan Valley | 187 Patricia Tomic and Ricardo Trumper Contributors | 207 Index | 213