Farm Worker Advocate Rosa Delgado is concerned that the latest changes to the rules governing seasonal agricultural workers are merely band-aid solutions to a much deeper problem. Each year, tens of thousands of workers travel to Canada from Mexico and the Caribbean to plant and harvest the fruit and vegetables that fill the country's grocery shelves. Most arrive on permits that tie them to a single employer, so a worker who is mistreated cannot simply move to another farm without risking the loss of their status. Delgado first came to Ontario from Mexico eleven years ago to pick apples, and she now helps others in the same position. "I was only too aware of how little say we had," Delgado says. "If you complained, you could be sent home, and everyone knew it."

Ministry Official Trevor Ainsworth says that while the system is far from perfect, his office is doing its best to improve it. "Recent measures, such as tougher housing inspections and a confidential tip line for workers, have made a real difference," Ainsworth says. One of the major changes lets a worker who leaves an abusive employer apply for a permit with a new farm instead of being sent home. Even so, the process is slow, and a worker who walks away from a job may wait weeks without income before another permit comes through.