Halifax

"El Contrato" - Film Screening and Discussion

2:00pm
- 4:00pm
Saturday November 15 2014

Year after year thousands of agricultural migrant workers enter Canada through the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) to fill the labour shortages that persist throughout the planting and harvesting seasons.

Here in Nova Scotia, migrant workers are essential to the agricultural industry and, as many farmers claim, many farms could not survive without their help. Unfortunately, current immigration policies do not reflect the obvious value migrant workers provide to the national and local economies. Workers are not provided any opportunity to apply for permanent resident status, despite years or decades toiling in Canadian fields, and they are contractually tied to a single employer. This precarious citizenship and employment status renders migrant workers extremely vulnerable to exploitative working and living conditions as speaking up can lead to the cancellation of their contracts, deportation, and the loss of invaluable income for themselves and their families. Furthermore, workers often face extreme geographical and social isolation and face barriers to understanding and accessing their rights. 

Join us for a screening of the National Film Board documentary, El Contrato, written and directed by Min Sook Lee, followed by a discussion and Q&A with special guest, Chris Ramsaroop, an organizer and educator with Justicia for Migrant Workers. 

About "El Contrato" 

This documentary from Min Sook Lee (Tiger Spirit) follows a poverty-stricken father from Central Mexico, along with several of his countrymen, as they make their annual migration to southern Ontario to pick tomatoes. For 8 months a year, the town's population absorbs 4,000 migrant workers who toil under conditions, and for wages, that no local would accept. Yet despite a fear of repercussions, the workers voice their desire for dignity and respect. 

About Justicia

Justicia for Migrant Workers (J4MW) is a grassroots advocacy group based in Toronto and Vancouver. Composed of migrant workers and allies, we fight for the interests of workers in Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers Program, including workers in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program and the Agricultural Stream.

https://www.nfb.ca/film/el_contrato

http://www.justicia4migrantworkers.org/

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