Organizations Supporting Migrant Agricultural Workers
Organizations in Canada
Justicia 4 Migrant Workers (J4MW)
Justicia for Migrant Workers (J4MW) is a volunteer-run political collective comprising people from diverse walks of life, including migrant workers, labour organizers, educators, researchers, students and racialized youth based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are engaged in this work alongside our personal commitments and numerous social justice struggles.
Phone: (647) 834-4932
Email: [email protected]
Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC)
The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC) is Canada’s largest coalition of self-organized groups of migrant workers, with the support of grassroots organizations, unions, faith groups, activists and researchers that have come together to fight for justice and dignity for migrant workers. MWAC supports migrant workers and migrant worker led organizations; developing innovative policy solutions; training service providers and coordinating federal and provincial campaigns.
Phone: 1-855-567-4722
Email: [email protected]
Migrant Rights Network
The Migrant Rights Network is a cross-Canada alliance to combat racism and fight for migrant justice. They are a network of self-organized groups of refugees and migrants and allies. They prioritize the leadership and self-organization of racialized, working class, migrants, refugees and displaced people. They will do so in alliance with labour, community, faith, environmental, Indigenous, arts and media organizations. They will strive to build global alliances for migrant justice.
Email: [email protected]
MigrantWorkersRights – Global Online Database
MigrantWorkersRights (MWR) is a non-profit organization operating as an open but coordinated network aiming for — through research, legal actions and legislative processes — the abolition of slavery's legacies embedded within current Canadian and similar administrative frameworks. MWR's mission is the respect, by national and international agencies, of the rights to liberty, to physical and psychological integrity, and to non-discrimination based on the country of origin — thus of the rights to freely change employers at all time, to receive study/work permits for children/spouse, and to access permanent legal status, of every human being admitted under the status of 'temporary foreign worker'.
Email: [email protected]
Migrant Resource Centre Canada (MRCC)
The Migrants Resource Centre Canada aims to improve the lives of migrant and immigrant workers by advancing their rights and dignity while working and living in Canada. MRCC upholds migrant workers as key actors in the pursuit of this goal. Its role is to assist in capacity building and cooperative action towards full participation into Canadian society.
Phone: 1-866-275-4046
Email: [email protected]
UFCW: Agricultural Workers Alliance (AWA)
For more than thirty years, UFCW Canada has led the way to bring justice, safety, seniority, and good wages to workers in the agriculture sector. UFCW Canada union contracts at greenhouses, and field and packing operations provide both domestic and migrant agricultural workers with the best wages and workplace protections in the industry. Along with the Agriculture Workers Alliance, UFCW Canada operates North America’s largest agricultural workers' association with over 13,000 members.
Toll free: 1-877-778-7565
Toll free from Mexico: 01.800.681.1591
Toll free from Jamaica: 1-877-344-3472
Organizations in Ontario
C.A.R.E. for International Workers - Windsor-Essex
CARE for International Workers has been assisting migrant workers with their legal issues and addressing their needs in Canada since 2017. CARE is made up of 8 partners: Consulate of Mexico in Leamington, Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers OHCOW, Windsor-Essex Bilingual Legal Clinic (WEBLC), Windsor-Essex Compassionate Care Community (WECCC), Windsor -Essex Community Health Centre (WeCHC), The Metta Collective, The Neighbourhood Organization (TNO), and The Temple of Buena Semilla. These partners collaborate to assist migrant workers understand and exercise their consular and legal rights, and to promote their overall health and wellness by providing FREE legal services, public legal education, consular services, health services, entertainment, pastoral CARE, wellness support, individual community coaching, occupational health and safety information, settlement services and organized activities for International Workers.
Region: Windsor-Essex
Email: [email protected]
WhatsApp: (226) 935-7772
Caribbean Workers Outreach Program (CWOP) - Niagara
CWOP-Niagara has been on the go for a long time. CWOP-Niagara is a Christ centred team who bring assistance to Caribbean agricultural workers in Canada.
Region: Niagara area
Phone: (905) 394-0125
Caribbean Workers Outreach Project (CWOP) - Norfolk
CWOP-Norfolk provides spiritual support to workers from the Caribbean who are working in the Brant and Norfolk areas. Contact Reverend Lennox.
Region: Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk areas
Phone/WhatsApp: (226) 920-3176
Centre for Migrant Worker Solidarity (CMWS) - Norfolk
Provides support and services to migrant workers in the Haldimand-Norfolk area. The CMWS is located in downtown Simcoe at 37 Kent Street South.
Region: Haldimand-Norfolk area
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (519) 426-9595
Durham Region Migrant Worker Minstry (DRMWM)
Durham Region Migrant Workers Ministry (DRMWM) provides support and services to migrant workers in the Durham Region. Contact Reverend Augusto Nunez.
Region: Durham Region
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (416) 886-4482
FCJ Refugee Centre
FCJ Refugee Centre offers services to people at risk due to their immigration status, and welcomes anyone asking for advice, counsel and support regarding these issues. FCJ provides case management and services for migrant workers, including help with Open Work Permits for Vulnerable Workers. FCJ Refugee Centre's Migrant Workers Anti-HumanTrafficking Program supports workers by phone or through virtual informative sessions. Contact Luis Alberto Mata.
Region: Ontario
Email: [email protected]
Phone/WhatsApp: (647) 971-2153
Friends of Lynden Agricultural Workers (FLAW)
Provides supports to workers in the Lynden and Burford areas. Contact Dr. Ella Haley.
Region: Lynden and Burford areas
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (226) 802-2801
Horizons of Friendship - Northumberland
The Migrant Worker Outreach Program, led by Horizons of Friendship, seeks to support the health, legal, and social status of migrant workers in Northumberland County. We have established partnerships with the Community Health Centres of Northumberland, and the Northumberland Community Legal Centre to secure health, legal, and social services for migrant farmworkers in Northumberland County. The program hosts a variety of social events for migrant workers and community members to build community, and friendships, as well as reduce isolation.
Region: Northumberland County
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (905) 372-5483
IAVGO Community Legal Clinic
IAVGO has prioritized the workers’ compensation (WSIB) cases of migrant farmworkers in Ontario since 2005. IAVGO prioritizes these cases because the WSIB refuses to correct the systemic barriers and discriminatory policies that prevent migrant workers from obtaining equal access to Ontario’s workers compensation system.
Phone: (416) 924-6477
Fax: (416) 924-2472
Toll-free in Ontario: 1-877-230-6311
Toll-free in Canada for Migrant Workers: 1-866-521-8535
Migrants Matter, Flamborough
Migrants Matter, Flamborough is comprised of volunteers from the community and beyond. Over the past 15 years, they have expanded to several local churches to serve the nearly 300 migrant workers in the Flamborough area. The goal of Migrants Matter, Flamborough has always been to create awareness and enhanced inclusivity in the local community.
Phone: (905) 689-1030
Email: [email protected]
Migrant Worker Community Program - Leamington
Migrant Worker Community Program supports workers in the Leamington area. The program is located at 215 Talbot Street East, Leamington.
Region: Essex County
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (519) 325-0876
Niagara Migrant Workers Interest Group (NMWIG)
Providing support for migrant agricultural workers in the Niagara Region, NMWIG coordinates the efforts of individuals and interested organizations to provide advocacy and support services to guest workers. NMWIG’s member organizations work together to build bridges to accessible health care, equitable services and social inclusion for migrant workers in Niagara.
Email: [email protected]
Niagara Migrant Farmworkers Project
The Migrant Farmworkers Project facilitates the seasonal farmworkers, farmers, community partners, and volunteers working together in a partnership that enhances the workers’ lives away from their homes. The Project provides access to needed services to address their holistic needs; physical, mental and spiritual. The Project builds welcoming relationships and spaces with seasonal workers, and supports those engaged with the workers. Contact Reverend Antonio Illas.
Phone: 905-685-3500
Niagara Workers Welcome
Since 2007, the Niagara Workers Welcome has hosted events to express appreciation and provide a warm welcome to our farm worker neighbours. From 2007 to 2016 Welcome concerts were held every May. In 2017, the event changed to the Peach Pickers Picnic held in August to accommodate the growing numbers. In 2020, plans changed to accommodate COVID protocol but the support from locals continued to grow, finding creative ways to serve the needs of farm workers struggling with isolation and food security. Thanks to local businesses and individuals, we were able to organize deliveries of hot meals to the farms.
Email: [email protected]
Norfolk Community Help Centre
The Norfolk Community Help Centre provides free services to migrant workers and their employers and is funded by the Government of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker program. Services include Spanish translations, employer training, and a driving service. The Centre provides emergency supports, PPE, assistance with accessing government support, and recreational events.
WhatsApp: (289) 686-7813
Phone: (519) 875-4601
Norfolk Seasonal Agricultural Workers Community Committee (NSAWCC)
The Norfolk Seasonal Agricultural Workers Community Committee NSAWCC is a group of local citizens and organizations who are concerned with the well-being of migrant workers in the Haldimand-Norfolk Region. The NSAWCC acts as a conduit for information and support, and engages community members, farmers, and workers. Each year, the NSAWCC hosts various annual events, including health fairs, soccer tournaments, and plans for a dominoes tournament are underway.
Phone/WhatsApp: (226) 922-1847
Email: [email protected]
TNO - The Neighbourhood Organization | Worker Support Services
The Worker Support Services (WSS) program at TNO provides support services to temporary foreign workers across Ontario. Through the WSS program, TNO staff and partners work to provide migrant workers with access to accurate information and services related to health, legal, and social services in Ontario. Education and the empowerment of migrant workers are core tenets of the WSS program, including increased social, civic engagement participation of migrant workers in their communities. Employers are also welcomed, encouraged, and invited to participate in the activities of the WSS program.
Region: All across Ontario
Phone and WhatsApp (English & Spanish): (416) 475-2627
Phone and WhatsApp (English and Patois): (416) 524-4162
Email: [email protected]
Toll-free in Ontario: 1-855-421-3054
Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers Inc. (OHCOW)
Since 2006, OHCOW has offered services to migrant farm workers, their employers and community partners with the continued aim of becoming valued partners in agricultural and horticultural occupational health and safety.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-877-817-0336 (ext. 2221)
Geographical focus: Ontario
Unknown Neighbours
Unknown Neighbours provides support to migrant workers and their employers in Simcoe and Grey-Bruce Counties. Unknown Neighbours helps migrant workers access emergency support and services (including health care, protective measures, and equipment), as well as local programs and services.
Region: Simcoe County & Grey-Bruce County
Phone/WhatsApp: (705) 718-6418
Email - Simcoe County: [email protected]
Email - Collingwood: [email protected]
Organizations in British Columbia
Byron Cruz, Migrant Worker Coordinator, BC Federation of Labour
Region: Vancouver area and Fraser Valley
Email: [email protected]
Phone/WhatsApp: (604) 315-7725
Fuerza Migrante
Fuerza Migrante (previously Migrant Workers’ Dignity Association, MWDA) is an organization dedicated to transforming a world stained by exploitation and injustice by building autonomous migrant power from below, through mutual aid and communal self-defense. Our struggle is multi-dimensional: we cannot end capitalist exploitation without directly confronting all forms of oppression (particularly gendered forms, as most migrant farm workers identify as male, and therefore have a key role to play against the patriarchy) and the theft of territories by colonizers and settlers. We pool our skills and resources together in order to be part of the struggles for migrant liberation in the stolen lands incorrectly understood as “Canada” and all other struggles for justice throughout the world.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (604) 445-3603 and (604) 828-8909
Fax: (604) 608-3897
Javier Robles, Community Outreach Worker, Kelowna Community Resources
Region: Kelowna and central Okanagan
Email: [email protected]
Phone/WhatsApp: (250) 540-7141
Migrante B.C.
Migrante B.C. is a community-based organization committed to the protection and promotion of the rights and welfare of Filipino immigrants and migrant workers in British Columbia, Canada.
Region: Vancouver area
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (604) 358-1659
Migrant Workers Centre
Migrant Workers Centre is a non-profit organization dedicated to legal advocacy for migrant workers in BC. Established in 1986, Migrant Workers Centre facilitates access to justice for migrant workers through the provision of legal education, advice and full representation.
The organization also works to advance fair immigration policy and improved labour standards for migrant workers through law and policy reform, and test case litigation.
Region: Based in Vancouver, offers phone service to other parts of the province
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (604) 669-4482, Toll Free: 1-888-669-4482
Mitch Ward, Migrant Farmworker Outreach and Support, Kamloops Immigrant Services
Region: Kamloops area, Clearwater, 100 Mile House
Email: [email protected]
Phone/Whatsapp: (250) 803-1458
Radical Action with Migrants in Agriculture (RAMA)
RAMA is a grassroots migrant justice group that strives to support the approximately 5,000 Latin American and Caribbean “temporary” migrant farmworkers in the Okanagan Valley in their ongoing struggle for dignity, community, and humanity. Our aim is to be worker-led and to respond to the needs identified by migrant workers as they arise. Ultimately, our intention is for migrant workers themselves to name and direct our priorities.
Phone/WhatsApp: (250) 215-3415 (Spanish or English)
Email: [email protected]
Umbrella Clinic
The Umbrella Mobile Clinic is a community health clinic targeted to the unique needs of migrant farmworkers. The clinic operates in the Fraser Valley and virtually across BC to provide low-barrier access to medical and other health services in Spanish. The crew consists of nurse practitioners, nurses, physicians, physiotherapists, support workers and volunteers, and Cross Cultural Health Brokers (CCHB). CCHBs offer language interpretation, cultural bridging, advocacy, and health system navigation support to patients and community members.
Region: Fraser Valley
Coordinator: Shaina Schafers
Email: [email protected]
Text/WhatsApp: (778) 751-4850
Watari
Watari’s Migrant 2 Migrant program supports under-resourced workers with information and access to clothing, food, shelter, and medical care. This program had been exclusively volunteer fueled for over four years, until April 2019 when this initiative began to be funded by Employment Services and Social Development Canada. This has allowed an expansion and multiplication of services, as well as the introduction of new programs and partnerships. Contact Chris Castro. For counselling services, contact Berta Perez.
Phone Chris: (236) 858-5562 (English & Spanish)
Email: [email protected]
Phone Berta: (604) 782-5084 (English & Spanish)
Email: [email protected]