A Service Canada policy that allows officers to walk onto a property that employs temporary foreign workers and conduct a wide-ranging unannounced inspection is “legal,” Canada’s federal employment minister said Thursday.

“It is legal. They (Service Canada officers) have the authority to do it. They (employers) have a choice. They can choose to use the temporary foreign worker program or not,” Employment Minister Patty Hajdu told iPolitics.

“It is something that they have to apply to use and when they use it there’s an expectation that the labour that they’re benefiting from from other countries, that those folks are taken care of properly,” she said.

On February 14 Service Canada sent an email, a copy of which has been obtained by iPolitics, to all employers of the temporary foreign worker program reminding them of program requirements and “your responsibilities associated with an employer compliance inspection.”

As part of the compliance inspection, the email says Service Canada officers must be allowed to “examine anything on the premises.” The unannounced inspections will occur “anytime within a six-year period beginning on the first day of employment of the foreign worker.”

Service Canada told participants on a February 27 teleconference that inspectors would let themselves on site even if the employer 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,” Alberta beekeeper Kevin Nixon, who was on that conference call, said in an interview Wednesday. He added “she said they would want to speak with me.”

But in an email Thursday, Hajdu’s Press Secretary Matt Pascuzzo said Service Canada “officers would not arrive onsite and begin their inspection without first announcing themselves to the employer or their onsite representative.”

Upon arrival, he added “Service Canada officers will identify themselves to those who are present, explain the purpose of the inspection, and will always ask to speak to the employer, or their onsite representative.”

If someone is not home the officer could choose “to wait or leave and come back,” Pascuzzo said.

As part of the inspections, the memo reads, investigators must have access to “any document” and 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 email does not define “relevant document.”

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

The policy has sparked serious concern within Canada’s agriculture industry, many of whom employ foreign workers. Farmers say the Service Canada 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. Biosecurity measures are also in place for vehicles entering and exiting a property.

Pascuzzo told iPolitics the officers would also “ask the employer about any issues that would need to be taken into account when conducting their inspection, including food and safety regulations or biosecurity measures.”

Farm groups have said the policy violates food safety rules, which require all visitors on farms to sign in and out.

Hajdu said Thursday the “new regime” of unannounced inspections is required to ensure temporary foreign workers are not being abused. She said the policy is backed by regulation. Historically audits have been paper-based.

“The reason we have moved to that, of course, is that in the past inspectors gave notice and employers had an opportunity to, perhaps, take actions that would not present the full picture to our department,” she said, adding past audits have found cases of “falsification of records in some cases” and some cases where workers’ “living conditions were deplorable.”

“So this is really important to ensure that people who are here working you know, on farms, and in other sectors, have their rights respected,” she said.

In question period, Conservative Agriculture Critic John Barlow called the policy an “unbelievable attack on Canadian agriculture.”

“I don’t care if my door’s locked or not, there are some boundaries that people should be taking,” the Alberta MP told iPolitics.

“The fact that Service Canada believes they have the authority to just ignore one’s personal property rights, I think is an incredibly dangerous step that we do not want to go down.”

“There are so many problems with that sort of attitude and perspective,” Barlow said, adding farmers take “incredible measures to protect their property and their operations,” as part of their biosecurity to ensure disease isn’t spread.

Barlow isn’t the only MP worried about biosecurity measures.

“If inspectors are just coming unannounced onto a property it could be violating some very important biosecurity measures that are in place,” NDP Agriculture Critic Alistair MacGregor said, adding the inspection policy should have been developed in conjunction with the agriculture industry.

“I think this policy is…another example of a disconnection that I think really exists between the Liberals and those who work on our farms, he said. “I think before you institute a policy like this I think it’s important to be in touch with agricultural stakeholders and you need to speaking with them and working with them.”

NDP House Leader Ruth Ellen Brosseau called the policy “completely ridiculous.”

“What they’re doing is illegal. I think it’s really concerning. It’s insulting. I think the government has some explaining to do,” the former agriculture critic said.