Thanks to the workshop entitled « Ensuring support for temporary foreign workers (TFW) in Quebec », organized as part of the 3rd Immigration Summit, the Immigrant Quebec team was able to bring together several actors involved in the pilot project to support migrant workers affected by COVID-19 and to highlight its positive experiences.
The event, which took place in Drummondville on November 16, 2022, aimed to present the results of the pilot project funded by the Government of Canada. It also provided an opportunity to highlight four of the 17 initiatives selected as part of this pilot project, which were carried out by Quebec non-profit organizations. Fortunately, the first snowfall did not slow down the participants, who numbered 95 in the room!
A total of CDN $2,500,000 was distributed to the 17 organizations, of which CDN $54,000 came from an emergency fund. 116,000 workers were reached by the various initiatives and 33,718 workers were directly supported by the organizations. These figures, presented in the introduction by Jonathan Chodjaï, President of the Board of Immigrant Quebec, were followed by the announcement of a new funding, for which the call for projects is still underway.
- From left to right: Martin Francisco Montes (InfoTET / Immigrant Québec), Juan-Manual Diz-Grana (CNESST), Edith Lussier (UPA Montérégie), Fatna Chater (SOIT), Jasmin Chabot (AIDE) and Geneviève Lemonde (AGRI-Carrières). Photo: Lyne Tétreault.
A range of activities and services to reach workers
The main objective was the same for all the funded organizations : to inform, support and accompany temporary foreign workers, mainly in the agricultural sector. Each organization proposed activities and services that meet the needs of the workers, depending on their mission and the region they serve.
During the workshop, Geneviève Lemonde presented the AGRIcarrières project, of which she is the executive director, which has been developed in four parts : the creation of the AGRI-connexion mobile application, thematic sheets, webisodes and field brigades. Jasmin Chabot, project manager at Actions interculturelles de développement et d’éducation (AIDE), detailed the activities organized to promote the social integration of TFW in their host community, such as a visit to the sugar shack, a Latino market and information sessions. Fatna Chater, Executive Director of the Service d’orientation et d’intégration des immigrants au travail (SOIT) reported on efforts made to counter isolation among TFW, such as the organization of a day at the Valcartier Water Park and the Festi-Cultures 2022. For her part, Edith Lussier, coordinator at the UPA Montérégie, explained the operation of the referral line offered to TFW, whose objective is to orient them and answer their questions in their language.
Then, Juan-Manuel Diz-Grana, Director of Prevention, Investigations and Permits at the CNESST, joined the organizations to detail the Commission’s strategy for reaching TFW, which includes the creation of a prevention squad, tools, distance learning and various publications.
The workshop was followed by a poignant speech by Nelson Olivero, Consul General of Guatemala in Montreal, during which he traced the typical journey of a Guatemalan arriving in Quebec with his ambitions, fears and needs. The session concluded with the presentation of the Consul General of Mexico in Montreal, Alejandro Estivill, who recounted the highlights of the collaboration with Immigrant Quebec and the NPOs in 2022
