Statement by National President Wayne Hanley on new screening protocols for seasonal Mexican agriculture workers arriving in Canada
April 27, 2009 — "Over the past decade, UFCW Canada has supplied information and services to tens of thousands of seasonal agriculture workers who are fundamental to the Canadian agriculture sector. The majority of those workers come from Mexico
|
You must have java enabled to watch this video
|
On Monday, the federal government announced additional health screening
protocols for these workers. To date, no Mexican worker in Canada has been
diagnosed with the flu strain in question, and thousands of these workers have
been here for months. That said, we support these protocols because safety is
the top priority.
If these screening measures are considered appropriate for agriculture workers,
logically they should also be used to screen all travellers from Mexico,
including tourists and business travellers as well. The additional screening
measures announced by the government should be applied to all those arriving
from regions impacted by this new strain of flu.
As for workers already here from Mexico, our nine agriculture support centers
continue to translate and distribute to them up-to-date information from the
public health authorities. We are also there for any worker who is concerned
about a health issue, or needs someone to act as an interpreter at a health
clinic or hospital.
This is certainly a distressing time for all concerned. We share that concern
and are prepared to work with all the stakeholders - here in Canada, and in
Mexico, to ensure that safety remains the top priority for Canadians, for the
workers, and for our communities."
Learn more |
|