Migrant workers of T&T to return from Canada under strict rules

Stranded migrant workers will be allowed to come home to Trinidad and Tobago under strict screening rules. Still, many are willing to remain in Canada for fear of not being able to come back in the spring.

In a report on Tuesday, the Trinidad and Tobago government said that it would dedicate flights and quarantine facilities to repatriate about 400 workers from the country stuck on farms in Canada. But with costly quarantine systems and no guarantee that they will be able to return for work in a few months, many farmworkers are facing the choice between earning a paycheque and spending time with their families.

“It’s a bit late to go back at this point,” said Ricardo Sookhoo, one of three migrant workers at Eek Farms near Newmarket, Ontario.

“It will be February by the time we do the paperwork and quarantine to go back to Trinidad. Then there’s a possibility that we might not even be able to come back to Canada in April.”

Trinidad and Tobago secured its borders in the spring when the pandemic spread around the globe, delaying the return of migrant workers that work on farms across Canada each year. The government required strict travel restrictions and banned commercial flights to curb the spread of the virus. T

Trinidad and Tobago government noted that it reminded workers bound for Canada that they may not be able to return.

Migrant workers that travelled to Canada after Trinidad and Tobago closed its borders on March 22 were asked to sign an agreement acknowledging the risk, according to the statement.

“Nevertheless, as soon as these workers finished working in Canada, they demanded to return,” according to the Trinidad and Tobago government's statement.

“Many were accustomed to going and using months away and may have lost their jobs and wanted to come back to Trinidad and Tobago. They were not Trinidad and Tobago nationals who were stuck outside due to going out for a short vacation.” added the government in a statement.

Some workers returned home on a Tuesday evening flight from Toronto, and the Trinidad and Tobago government have scheduled additional flights at 10-day intervals, according to Global Affairs Canada.

Workers must apply to return and must test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of boarding a flight. When they land in Trinidad and Tobago, they have to pay to stay in state-supervised quarantine means for seven days, according to the Trinidad and Tobago government.

There is also no guarantee that they will be allowed to come back in the spring, leaving these workers without a job and farmers without a workforce to harvest the products that feed Canadians year-round.