Canada gives visas to at least 10k farm workers every year under various programs. The programs are typically structured so the worker can’t leave the employer unless they can prove abuse. This clearly puts workers at risk.

Villegas said she has seen cases where workers are housed in barns or makeshift sheds, or where dozens of workers are crammed into a single house with limited washroom facilities.

“I remember one of the workers telling me, ‘My dog in Mexico lives better than I do,’” said Villegas, who works for Radical Action with Migrants in Agriculture, a grassroots non-profit operating mostly in the Okanagan.

In typical Canadian fashion, provincial and federal governments deny responsibility and state the other is responsible for the program:

When asked about problems in the program, Weiler said the two governments often point to each other.

The article suggests such shocking ideas as “providing workers rights under law.”