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David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @alllibertynews and 49 others
Methinks I should remind Joanna Baron of my doings with her predecessor Howie Anglin and what a joke the Canadian Constitution Foundation is to me and Stevey Boy Harper N'esy Pas?
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/04/new-brunswick-bans-temporary-foreign.html
#nbpoli#cdnpoli
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-19-new-brunswick-temporary-foreign-workers-1.5548331
· CBC News· Posted: Apr 28, 2020 6:29 PM AT
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Premier Blaine Higgs says the decision not to allow foreign workers was made to protect New Brunswickers during the pandemic. (Government of New Brunswick/Submitted)
The New Brunswick government will ban any new temporary foreign workers from entering the province as a way of reducing the risk of COVID-19.
Premier Blaine Higgs says an influx of more workers is too much of a health risk, and he called on New Brunswickers and foreign workers already in the province to fill vacancies in the agricultural and seafood-processing sectors.
"Under normal circumstances we welcome temporary foreign workers in our province," Higgs said Tuesday. "They play an important role in New Brunswick's continued economic growth."
But "right now the risk of allowing more people to enter the province is simply too great."
That could leave farmers like Murray Tweedie of Kouchibouguac, owner of M & S Wild Blueberry Farms, facing closure.
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Blueberry farmer Murray Tweedie says the ban on temporary foreign workers could put him out of business. (Youtube)
Tweedie said 24 workers are due to arrive from Jamaica on May 4 to help prepare his fields for pollination by 700 hives of bees coming from Michigan nine days later.
"We simply do not have the time to change our course," Tweedie said. "We need these workers and we need them now. … That will leave me unable to continue our farming operation, point blank. We will be out of business."
Tweedie said some of his workers were due to arrive before now but were delayed.
With a mandatory 14-day quarantine for new arrivals in the province, the pollination timeline would be hard to achieve even if they landed now, he said.
Higgs said at his daily afternoon COVID-19 briefing that the province would work with producers like Tweedie to shift some of the 1,500 foreign workers already in the province to fill gaps at his farm and others.
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Temporary foreign workers are not allowed to enter New Brunswick during the COVID-19 pandemic, premier Blaine Higgs announced Tuesday. 2:01
He said there are enough of them, and enough local workers, to do the work.
"Let's find a solution together," Higgs said. "If there was ever was a time that people were needed to step up and be part of the solution … now is the time."
"That does not fulfil our total need for workers," he said, explaining that the Jamaicans who have come to his farm year after year are already trained. "They know the farm. They know the equipment, and without them we are going to struggle. … This is terrible, terrible news."
Tweedie said he has been trying to hire local workers for the positions since last November and has managed to find only two people.
He choked up as he described how he also needs the workers to mow fields for the 2021 season, meaning that could be ruined too.
"I'm 73 years old," he said. "I can only do so much."
"A decision at the last minute to destabilize the labour force that's necessary in the fish-processing plants is of concern to us," he said.
LeBlanc, whose riding includes processing plants that use foreign workers, said finding local recruits to take those jobs is a constant challenge.
"The idea that we can find local workers to replace these temporary foreign workers is not as easy as it seems."
Agricultural and seafood companies persuaded the federal government to exempt temporary foreign workers from the closure of the Canadian border last month.
Higgs said he told Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland of the decision Monday night and asked for "flexibility" to allow the shifting of foreign workers already here as needed.
"I won't apologize for protecting New Brunswickers," he said.
Asked if the three opposition party leaders on his all-party COVID-19 cabinet committee had endorsed the decision, Higgs said they had agreed on "a path forward" that included fewer foreign workers.
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Green MLA Kevin Arseneau doesn't think it was 'a responsible decision' to ban temporary foreign workers. (Radio-Canada)
Green Party MLA Kevin Arseneau denounced the decision, saying the province could have helped foreign workers self-quarantine by providing hotel rooms rather than leave farmers in the lurch.
"I don't think this is in any way a responsible decision," he said.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, the chief medical officer of health, would not answer directly when asked if she had advised Higgs to ban any more foreign workers.
"This is a government decision, but in terms of highlighting risks, our borders right now are a risk."
Tweedie said his workers have already been cleared to enter Canada by the federal Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. He said the province normally has no role in approving his workers.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not answer directly Tuesday when asked if provinces have the legal authority to ban temporary foreign workers.
"Provinces will have different approaches," he said. "The situation is very different across the country. The provinces will make decisions that prove to be the best within their jurisdictions."
"It's quite clear that movement of individuals between provinces is clearly a federal power," she said. "It is not a provincial power."
The foundation is a lobby group that opposes restrictions on interprovincial trade. It helped fund the legal challenge by New Brunswicker Gerard Comeau to provincial limits on importing beer from other provinces.
Baron said the other legal problem with Higgs's move is that immigration is exclusively a federal jurisdiction.
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Joanna Baron, executive director of the Canadian Constitution Foundation, questions whether the province's decision to ban temporary foreign workers is unconstitutional. (Canadian Constitution Foundation)
"I don't see how the New Brunswick premier can do through the back door what he cannot clearly do by the front door, i.e. de facto control immigration on the ground, if the federal government has deemed their entry to be lawful."
LeBlanc also questioned whether Higgs's move was constitutional, but he said given the province has adopted emergency powers during the pandemic, the federal government had accepted that the decision had been made even if it wasn't in agreement.
Tweedie said many of the 24 Jamaicans he was expecting to arrive next week have been coming to work for him for years. He said they have an "incredible work ethic."
He said he has already invested $250,000 into preparing for this year's season.
"It's a matter of, 'when do I pull the plug?'" he said.
77 Comments
David Amos
Methinks Higgy and the Feds know how much I love this circus N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Lou Bell
Reply to @David Amos: I imagine you're the last thing on their minds !
David Amos
Methinks much to their former leader Dominic Cardy's chagrin Murray Tweedie should ask where is his fellow blueberry farmer Jean-Maurice Landry and the NDP in his time of need N'esy Pas?
Most popular NDP candidate questions party's future after dismal election
Jean-Maurice Landry said the party ignored his ideas to support northern New Brunswick
Robert Jones · CBC News · Posted: Oct 06, 2018 8:00 AM AT
"Landry, a blueberry grower and activist, put up a scrappy fight against Liberal cabinet minister and five-term MLA Denis Landry in Bathurst East-Nepisiguit-Saint-Isidore. He finished second with 30 per cent of the vote, eating deeply into Liberal support even as the provincial NDP was melting away around him."
Marc Bourque
Good call Mr Higgs,our health is way more important !
David Amos
michael levesque
i picked tobacco when i was a teen, working on a farm is hard back breaking work. many young today cannot bring themselves to that level of work.
Tim Biddiscombe
David Peters
Could move to a guaranteed income plan that encourages people to get out and work for extra money.
The way it is now, too many are encouraged to not work.
Marguerite Deschamps
Marguerite Deschamps
[Tweedie said many of the 24 Jamaicans he was expecting to arrive next week have been coming to work for him for years. He said they have an "incredible work ethic."]
Being a baby boomer, I feel for this Mr. Tweedie. The locals no longer want to do these jobs. Times have changed, we are not longer in the 1950s-60s-70s. I can clearly see from where Mr. Tweedie is coming. He doesn't want so-called workers on his farm dragging their boots. Higgs is not only way out in left field on this issue; he's not even in the ballpark.
Mary Smith
David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @alllibertynews and 49 others
Methinks I should remind Joanna Baron of my doings with her predecessor Howie Anglin and what a joke the Canadian Constitution Foundation is to me and Stevey Boy Harper N'esy Pas?
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/04/new-brunswick-bans-temporary-foreign.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-19-new-brunswick-temporary-foreign-workers-1.5548331
New Brunswick bans temporary foreign workers to curb COVID-19 risk
Blueberry farmer dismayed by decision, says it could ruin his business
· CBC News· Posted: Apr 28, 2020 6:29 PM AT
Premier Blaine Higgs says the decision not to allow foreign workers was made to protect New Brunswickers during the pandemic. (Government of New Brunswick/Submitted)
The New Brunswick government will ban any new temporary foreign workers from entering the province as a way of reducing the risk of COVID-19.
Premier Blaine Higgs says an influx of more workers is too much of a health risk, and he called on New Brunswickers and foreign workers already in the province to fill vacancies in the agricultural and seafood-processing sectors.
"Under normal circumstances we welcome temporary foreign workers in our province," Higgs said Tuesday. "They play an important role in New Brunswick's continued economic growth."
But "right now the risk of allowing more people to enter the province is simply too great."
That could leave farmers like Murray Tweedie of Kouchibouguac, owner of M & S Wild Blueberry Farms, facing closure.
Blueberry farmer Murray Tweedie says the ban on temporary foreign workers could put him out of business. (Youtube)
Tweedie said 24 workers are due to arrive from Jamaica on May 4 to help prepare his fields for pollination by 700 hives of bees coming from Michigan nine days later.
"We simply do not have the time to change our course," Tweedie said. "We need these workers and we need them now. … That will leave me unable to continue our farming operation, point blank. We will be out of business."
Tweedie said some of his workers were due to arrive before now but were delayed.
With a mandatory 14-day quarantine for new arrivals in the province, the pollination timeline would be hard to achieve even if they landed now, he said.
Higgs said at his daily afternoon COVID-19 briefing that the province would work with producers like Tweedie to shift some of the 1,500 foreign workers already in the province to fill gaps at his farm and others.
Temporary foreign workers are not allowed to enter New Brunswick during the COVID-19 pandemic, premier Blaine Higgs announced Tuesday. 2:01
He said there are enough of them, and enough local workers, to do the work.
"Let's find a solution together," Higgs said. "If there was ever was a time that people were needed to step up and be part of the solution … now is the time."
'This is terrible, terrible news'
But Tweedie said the premier's suggestion is a non-starter."That does not fulfil our total need for workers," he said, explaining that the Jamaicans who have come to his farm year after year are already trained. "They know the farm. They know the equipment, and without them we are going to struggle. … This is terrible, terrible news."
Tweedie said he has been trying to hire local workers for the positions since last November and has managed to find only two people.
He choked up as he described how he also needs the workers to mow fields for the 2021 season, meaning that could be ruined too.
"I'm 73 years old," he said. "I can only do so much."
Ottawa not in favour
Federal cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc said the Trudeau government disagreed with the decision because there was already enough economic uncertainty in the agricultural and seafood sectors because of COVID-19."A decision at the last minute to destabilize the labour force that's necessary in the fish-processing plants is of concern to us," he said.
LeBlanc, whose riding includes processing plants that use foreign workers, said finding local recruits to take those jobs is a constant challenge.
"The idea that we can find local workers to replace these temporary foreign workers is not as easy as it seems."
LeBlanc said a chartered flight from Mexico with workers for processing plants in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick was due to land in Halifax overnight. Now those workers will be limited to Nova Scotia, putting New Brunswick plants at a competitive disadvantage, he said.
Agricultural and seafood companies persuaded the federal government to exempt temporary foreign workers from the closure of the Canadian border last month.
Higgs said he told Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland of the decision Monday night and asked for "flexibility" to allow the shifting of foreign workers already here as needed.
"I won't apologize for protecting New Brunswickers," he said.
Asked if the three opposition party leaders on his all-party COVID-19 cabinet committee had endorsed the decision, Higgs said they had agreed on "a path forward" that included fewer foreign workers.
Green MLA Kevin Arseneau doesn't think it was 'a responsible decision' to ban temporary foreign workers. (Radio-Canada)
Green Party MLA Kevin Arseneau denounced the decision, saying the province could have helped foreign workers self-quarantine by providing hotel rooms rather than leave farmers in the lurch.
"I don't think this is in any way a responsible decision," he said.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, the chief medical officer of health, would not answer directly when asked if she had advised Higgs to ban any more foreign workers.
"This is a government decision, but in terms of highlighting risks, our borders right now are a risk."
Tweedie said his workers have already been cleared to enter Canada by the federal Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. He said the province normally has no role in approving his workers.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not answer directly Tuesday when asked if provinces have the legal authority to ban temporary foreign workers.
"Provinces will have different approaches," he said. "The situation is very different across the country. The provinces will make decisions that prove to be the best within their jurisdictions."
Constitutionality questioned
But Joanna Baron, executive director of the Canadian Constitution Foundation, said Higgs's move may be unconstitutional."It's quite clear that movement of individuals between provinces is clearly a federal power," she said. "It is not a provincial power."
The foundation is a lobby group that opposes restrictions on interprovincial trade. It helped fund the legal challenge by New Brunswicker Gerard Comeau to provincial limits on importing beer from other provinces.
Baron said the other legal problem with Higgs's move is that immigration is exclusively a federal jurisdiction.
Joanna Baron, executive director of the Canadian Constitution Foundation, questions whether the province's decision to ban temporary foreign workers is unconstitutional. (Canadian Constitution Foundation)
"I don't see how the New Brunswick premier can do through the back door what he cannot clearly do by the front door, i.e. de facto control immigration on the ground, if the federal government has deemed their entry to be lawful."
LeBlanc also questioned whether Higgs's move was constitutional, but he said given the province has adopted emergency powers during the pandemic, the federal government had accepted that the decision had been made even if it wasn't in agreement.
Tweedie said many of the 24 Jamaicans he was expecting to arrive next week have been coming to work for him for years. He said they have an "incredible work ethic."
He said he has already invested $250,000 into preparing for this year's season.
"It's a matter of, 'when do I pull the plug?'" he said.
77 Comments
David Amos
Methinks Higgy and the Feds know how much I love this circus N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Reply to @David Amos: Out of the gate methinks I should remind Joanna Baron of my doings with her predecessor Howie Anglin and what a joke the Canadian Constitution Foundation is to me and Stevey Boy Harper N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Reply to @David Amos: Anyone can Google "Howie Anglin David Amos" Correct?
Lou Bell
Reply to @David Amos: I imagine you're the last thing on their minds !
David Amos
Methinks much to their former leader Dominic Cardy's chagrin Murray Tweedie should ask where is his fellow blueberry farmer Jean-Maurice Landry and the NDP in his time of need N'esy Pas?
Most popular NDP candidate questions party's future after dismal election
Jean-Maurice Landry said the party ignored his ideas to support northern New Brunswick
Robert Jones · CBC News · Posted: Oct 06, 2018 8:00 AM AT
"Landry, a blueberry grower and activist, put up a scrappy fight against Liberal cabinet minister and five-term MLA Denis Landry in Bathurst East-Nepisiguit-Saint-Isidore. He finished second with 30 per cent of the vote, eating deeply into Liberal support even as the provincial NDP was melting away around him."
Marc Bourque
Good call Mr Higgs,our health is way more important !
David Amos
Reply to @Marc Bourque: Yea Right Trust that Higgy's candidate in Fat Fred City during the last election knows that I can tell a little story about the Green Party Leader, blueberry farms and I before the writ was dropped. Methinks the former Speaker Chris Collins and everybody else involved in politicking in NB knows why whatever his French lieutenant the former SANB President says about anything is purely comical to me N'esy Pas?
"Green Party MLA Kevin Arseneau denounced the decision, saying the province could have helped foreign workers self-quarantine by providing hotel rooms rather than leave farmers in the lurch."
"Green Party MLA Kevin Arseneau denounced the decision, saying the province could have helped foreign workers self-quarantine by providing hotel rooms rather than leave farmers in the lurch."
michael levesque
i picked tobacco when i was a teen, working on a farm is hard back breaking work. many young today cannot bring themselves to that level of work.
Tim Biddiscombe
Reply to @michael levesque: Why would anybody want to perform "hard back breaking work" for such low wages unless you were teen? how much tobacco is around here anyway?
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @Tim Biddiscombe: None of us liked to do this type of work. We had no choice. When you have no other alternative, you gotta do what you gotta do. I'm sure our veterans did not relish going to war.
John Wayne
Reply to @michael levesque: it would help if they can bring their cell phones
David Amos
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: Methinks you and Timmy Baby make for quite a pair N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Reply to @Tim Biddiscombe: FYI before I went to FHS with the likes of you trust that getting a job raking blueberries up behind the prison was a a dream come true for young folks in Dorchester NB in the sixties.
David Peters
Could move to a guaranteed income plan that encourages people to get out and work for extra money.
The way it is now, too many are encouraged to not work.
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @David Peters: A guaranteed income plan should have been implemented a long time ago. It would cut a lot of red tape and unnecessary programs. It would have worked very well during this pandemic to boot.
Mary Smith
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: UBI can and should replace the CERB once this pandemic is a bit more under control. It's much overdue, and should be the way forward - especially needed during this pandemic.
I have a theory that because the CERB is implemented in a way that discourages work -- because that is what we actually want right now, we are essentially paying people to sit still so this pandemic doesn't spread like wildfire -- that it will evolve into a UBI once Canada sees the country wide curve flatten.
After 2 1/2 months, it will be as if those who haven't earned the $5000 income threshold, have sort of "payed into the system" by not receiving the CERB up until that point. Hopefully at that point the CERB can be tweaked, made universal, and becomes a UBI to help us get through this pandemic a stronger and more resilient country.
Tackling financial instability directly, providing a solid financial floor to all Canadians, ensuring all Canadians who need help get help, allowing those who are sick to stay home and thus get us through this pandemic faster, and we'll be ready to brace for a second wave, if it does come and chances are it will.
UBI really is the one program to replace them all. Simple. No stigma. No this group gets it and this group doesn't. Directly attacking poverty without any bloated bureaucracy. No Canadians falling through the cracks, because we're all in this together, more so now than ever before with this pandemic.
I have a theory that because the CERB is implemented in a way that discourages work -- because that is what we actually want right now, we are essentially paying people to sit still so this pandemic doesn't spread like wildfire -- that it will evolve into a UBI once Canada sees the country wide curve flatten.
After 2 1/2 months, it will be as if those who haven't earned the $5000 income threshold, have sort of "payed into the system" by not receiving the CERB up until that point. Hopefully at that point the CERB can be tweaked, made universal, and becomes a UBI to help us get through this pandemic a stronger and more resilient country.
Tackling financial instability directly, providing a solid financial floor to all Canadians, ensuring all Canadians who need help get help, allowing those who are sick to stay home and thus get us through this pandemic faster, and we'll be ready to brace for a second wave, if it does come and chances are it will.
UBI really is the one program to replace them all. Simple. No stigma. No this group gets it and this group doesn't. Directly attacking poverty without any bloated bureaucracy. No Canadians falling through the cracks, because we're all in this together, more so now than ever before with this pandemic.
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @Mary Smith: With high tech and robotics making many jobs redundant, one more reason to implement it!
Mary Smith
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: Andrew Yang! War on Normal people is all about this. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/universal-basic-income-covid-coronavirus-pandemic-1.5536144 He has his book as a free audiobook online, check it out!
Mary Smith
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: It used to be wall to wall milk maids, then wall to wall foreign workers, now it's wall to wall milking robots.
Mary Smith
Reply to @Mary Smith: The future is now -- and the high tech/automation wave of job loss is coming for our jobs. This pandemic will see that wave come faster, and hit harder, and UBI will allow us all to brace and be able to adjust to the new economy of the 21st century.
Marguerite Deschamps
Mary, you are very well informed and a visionary and a pleasure to confer with.
David Amos
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: Too Too Funny
Marguerite Deschamps
[Tweedie said many of the 24 Jamaicans he was expecting to arrive next week have been coming to work for him for years. He said they have an "incredible work ethic."]
Being a baby boomer, I feel for this Mr. Tweedie. The locals no longer want to do these jobs. Times have changed, we are not longer in the 1950s-60s-70s. I can clearly see from where Mr. Tweedie is coming. He doesn't want so-called workers on his farm dragging their boots. Higgs is not only way out in left field on this issue; he's not even in the ballpark.
Mary Smith
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: they should really try to scoop up the tree planters in NB who normally go out West, but who are opting to stay in NB because it's not that safe to travel right now. It could be a really good source of workers.
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @Mary Smith: New Brunswickers used to be tree planters in the 1970-80s to reforest after the clear-cuttings. They were paid by the number of trees they planted. I wonder how many are prepared to do this type of work today.
Dunstable Kolbe
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: We shouldn’t underestimate ourselves.
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @Dunstable Kolbe: I agree. In the first few days, it's tough, but we toughen up and are good to go after that, just like training to get in shape.
Christine Martinez
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: Am I really that out of touch when I say there are enough people in the province currently out of work that they'd be happy to find something? Students? In Maine if you're good at it you can make 12K (USD) in a 4 week period. If you have people turning their noses up at that I'd suggest your recruitment tactics are in need of revision.
And besides, when I was young we had to walk 8 miles to school every day, uphill both ways. And we watched our favorite tv shows when the network told us to. And we only had rotary dial phones.
And we liked it that way.
And besides, when I was young we had to walk 8 miles to school every day, uphill both ways. And we watched our favorite tv shows when the network told us to. And we
And we liked it that way.
Mary Smith
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: My brother does this out West but lives in NB, and there's a bunch of local East Coasters who all travel out there together. But this year, another friend told me that at least half have opted out this year because it's not safe to travel and go into deep isolation right now in crowded camps. But, maybe they could work on these farms in a safer way.
I've been throwing out the idea to locals here that if you have a family member who works in a hospital and afraid of spreading it to their family, or if they have a family member that needs to isolate but can't really in the household, they could always use an RV.
Maybe using an RV to house locals, so they're not all housed together in close quarters, could prove helpful? Lots of people have RV's, and they aren't going to get much use this time of year. Just a thought, it could be helpful in some case
I've been throwing out the idea to locals here that if you have a family member who works in a hospital and afraid of spreading it to their family, or if they have a family member that needs to isolate but can't really in the household, they could always use an RV.
Maybe using an RV to house locals, so they're not all housed together in close quarters, could prove helpful? Lots of people have RV's, and they aren't going to get much use this time of year. Just a thought, it could be helpful in some case
Mary Smith
Reply to @Mary Smith: I think out West is just where all the money is. East Coasters are sort of their TFW's because they can make way more there than here.
Mary Smith
Reply to @Mary Smith: but also, I really do hope those farmers can indeed bring in some of their regular workers who are familiar with their operations. Hopefully they can isolate in their countries, come here, then isolate again at a hotel or in housing if it's possible (maybe in RV's?). Everyone is safe and well, farmers can still farm, and locals can help fill in the gaps.
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @Christine Martinez: First Nations used to go each summer in Maine to pick blueberries
David Amos
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: Methinks you are sounding just like the dude you are this evening N'esy Pas?