A policy that allows Service Canada officers to conduct surprise inspections and require employers of temporary foreign staff to allow investigators to search their computers, electronic devices and all documents — or risk losing their workers — is causing serious concern within this country’s agriculture industry.

Employers of temporary foreign workers received an email, a copy of which has been obtained by iPolitics, from Service Canada on February 14, reminding them of program requirements and “your responsibilities associated with an employer compliance inspection.”

The unannounced inspections could occur “anytime within a six-year period beginning on the first day of employment of the foreign worker,” it reads.

The email was sent to all employers who use the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, including farms enrolled in the Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program and the Agriculture Worker Stream. A conference call to discuss the policy with Service Canada staff was held two weeks later on February 27.

Alberta beekeeper Kevin Nixon was on that call, where he asked whether he would even receive a phone call before the investigator showed up. “I said ‘is that literally unannounced? They will show up on my farm and demand inspection?’ and she said ‘yup.'” he said when reached by phone Wednesday.

He was also told the investigators would conduct their inspections even if he wasn’t home. “She said that they will let themselves on site. They’re not going to break into anything if it’s locked up or whatever, but they will come on site,” he said, adding “she said they would want to speak with me.”

iPolitics’ has learned 120 Service Canada officers are involved. Historically audits have been paper-based, with no officials visiting premises.

According to the email, Service Canada says the inspections are aimed at ensuring temporary foreign workers aren’t being mistreated. “We are committed to ensuring the protection of even the most vulnerable workers.”

As part of the compliance inspection, the email says Service Canada officers must be allowed to “examine anything on the premises.” Investigators must also be allowed to “use any computer or other electronic device on the premises to examine any relevant document(s) stored on the device or available to it, such as in a cloud.”

The Service Canada email does not define or provide examples of “relevant document(s).”

Here is the full list of obligations employers of temporary foreign workers must adhere to as part of a compliance inspection, according to the Service Canada memo. #cdnag #cdnpoli #westcdnag pic.twitter.com/snsBeqcW5k — Kelsey Johnson (@johnsonthree) March 21, 2018

Employers must also “provide any documents located on premises to officers for examination” and allow investigators to “be accompanied or assisted on the premises by any person required by the officer,” the memo reads. Specifications about who would be considered a required person are not provided.

Those found to be non-compliant, the memo notes, could face fines of up to $1 million, have previously approved Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) revoked and/or be temporarily or permanently banned from the program. Canadian employers cannot hire foreign workers without an LMIA.

“We are committed to ensuring the protection of the most vulnerable workers,” the email reads. “We would also like to underline that we are devoted to ensuring a fair and efficient assessment of your activities and we will always do our best to mitigate, as much as possible, any potential negative impacts inspections could have on your daily commercial activities.”

Those reassurances are not easing farmers concerns, who say the requirements are “far reaching” and could jeopardize their operations because of biosecurity concerns.

Farms in Canada have biosecurity measures in place to protect their crops and livestock from disease. The measures vary from farm to farm and are strictly enforced by the producer. It is not uncommon for farmers to require visitors to take a shower and change into special clothing before entering a barn.

Nixon said he asked Service Canada staff about biosecurity measures during the conference call February 27. He said the department said those concerns would be taken under advisement.

“She basically said she wasn’t sure. She didn’t think they had training and that might be something that they would have to look into,” he said, adding every farm’s biosecurity plan is different. “There was no clear answer.”

Nixon said he knows of three beekeepers who were hit with audits last year.”It took through the whole winter. Their workers were delayed,” he said — noting at least one farm is still waiting for their staff, who they were hoping would have arrived this week.

“There’s a lot of stress about getting workers right now,” Nixon said, adding there is concerns the delays could jeopardize livestock health.

“The Canadian public should know that growers encourage inspections,” Canadian Horticulture Council Executive Director Rebecca Lee told iPolitics. “We want any bad players rooted out of the system. But we’re worried about how ESDC is planning on carrying out the inspections.”

Lee said the policy as it stands now “runs counter to food safety rules” that require all visitors on farm to sign in and out. She also said there are privacy concerns as farms are also peoples’ homes.

“No one wants a stranger snooping around their own home when they’re not around.”

A survey conducted by the Canadian Agriculture Human Resource Council in December of 548 farmers found several producers had contemplated suicide because of the stress the audits caused. Twenty-nine per cent of the respondents said they were currently under audit.

The department’s past handling of audits, farmers have said, has been extremely aggressive, with some equating it to a “witch hunt.”

“You’re guilty until proven innocent and you’re never told what you’re guilty of,” a visibly emotional Murray Porteous told delegates at the Canadian Horticulture Council’s annual meeting in Ottawa in March. A fruit and vegetable grower, Porteous was subjected to an integrity audit of his farm in October 2017.

Porteous said federal officials did not tell him why he was being audited or what the initial complaint or concern was. The audit, he said, lasted 11 weeks and took up 50 per cent of his time. He was never charged with a violation. His workers were finally approved in January.

Canadian farmers have been employing temporary foreign workers since 1966 because of ongoing agriculture labour shortages. The workers are traditionally acquired through the Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program (SAWP) or the Agriculture Stream (designed for farmers who require labour 12 months of the year). Temporary foreign workers are also employed in Canadian meat processing plants, food manufacturing and as truck drivers, to name a few.

The Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program is designed to provide short-term labour on Canadian farms during peak planting and harvest seasons. Farms can apply for workers from Mexico and select Caribbean countries. More than 20,000 seasonal workers travelled to Canadian farms in 2006 to help plant, tend and harvest.

In 2014, the Conference Board of Canada found Canadian farmers were short 59,000 on-farm workers. That shortfall is expected to grow to 114,000 by 2025.