Municipalities prepare for arrival of fruit pickers from Quebec despite community concerns of COVID-19 spread

Municipalities in British Columbia's South Okanagan region are preparing for the arrival of thousands of seasonal agricultural workers from Quebec by creating an environment and setting up practices to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The out-of-province farmworkers come to B.C. each year to pick fruit on orchards.

The fruit pickers' arrival is complicated by the pandemic and compounded by the fact that Quebec has significantly more cases of COVID-19 —more than 33,000 by Tuesday's count — than the province of B.C.

"This is a really hot button issue," said Martin Johansen, the mayor of Oliver, B.C., a town that sees a lot of fruit pickers come through each year.

"People are frustrated that [the fruit pickers] are still allowed to come here from out of province — especially from one that has considerably more COVID-19 numbers than we do here."

Johansen said he explains to consultants the town of Oliver has no jurisdiction over the arrival of the farmworkers from Quebec and that, like all agriculture workers, they are deemed an essential service in B.C.

Unlike temporary foreign workers who come from outside Canada to work on farms in the province, the fruit pickers do not have to self-isolate for 14 days.

Because of the pandemic, the town of Oliver is putting measures in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus, including installing portable toilets and handwashing stations at different locations around the community, putting up signs in both French and English outlining physical distancing rules and hiring a park ambassador for the month of May, and possibly beyond, to educate people about the need to adhere to physical distancing rules, said Johansen.

"[They will be] engaging people ... creating relationships, talking to people and helping them with any questions they might have and if there are any challenges, then there is a number to phone and people who will come and aid that person."

Supporting essential workers

Many of the fruit pickers from Quebec stay at the Loose Bay Campground located on Crown land near Oliver.  

In previous years, the camping site was run by an agricultural industry group called the Loose Bay Campground Society. However, the society disbanded late last month because of the complexities of running the site during the pandemic, according to Karla Kozakevich, the chair of the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen (RDOS) board.

"The regional district decided that we needed to help support the farmworkers. They are essential for getting the crops picked, so the RDOS became involved in looking after the campsite," Kozakevich said.

The RDOS consulted with health officials, agricultural groups, the town of Oliver, as well as the campground society, to come up with measures to ensure agriculture workers and staff at the site follow provincial health directives during the pandemic, said Kozakevich.

Those measures include closing the kitchen and communal areas, banning campfires to ensure physical distancing, regular cleaning of washrooms, posting signs outlining COVID-19 protocols and the need for compliance, as well as hiring a bilingual campground manager and having bylaw officers enforce regulations.

Kozakevich says anyone who comes down with symptoms of COVID-19 will be referred to the Interior Health Authority.

The campground opened for the season on May 1.

The RDOS expects several hundred farm workers will stay at the campsite this year.