From the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association:

Most will have seen the announcement by the Federal government regarding the process for TFW arrivals after March 21, 2021.

  • Full details are HERE.

The announcement confirms that Ontario-bound TFWs (i.e. all SAWP and AgStream workers) will remain exempt from the 3-day mandatory quarantine in a Government-Authorized Accommodation (GAA) near Pearson Airport, subject to the following conditions:

  • The TFWs must be asymptomatic; and
  • They must be using private transportation to their place of quarantine and only be accompanied by others who travelled with them to Canada.

If TFWs meet these conditions, they can travel directly to their place of quarantine after getting a COVID-19 test at the airport. All other requirements (i.e. 14-day total quarantine and test at Day 10) remain in place.

Day 10 Testing Issues

OFVGA has made it a high priority to get logistical issues with the day 10 testing requirement for workers in quarantine resolved. Issues raised by growers to OFVGA and/or commodity associations have been flagged to both provincial and federal governments to demonstrate where improvements to the process need to be made.

Suggestions on how to improve the process, including the use of private nursing services and testing by local public health have also been put forward. While no solutions have been offered by the federal government, they are aware of the issues and have committed to improvements.

  • We will share as soon as we are aware of what these changes will be.

It is important to note that the current order in council requires all recent travellers, including TFWs, to obtain a negative test at day 10 of quarantine before leaving quarantine. Questions have also been asked of the federal government of who has jurisdiction if local health officials advise workers can leave quarantine.

Switch Health Video in Spanish

As of today there is now a Switch Health video available in Spanish, which may support Spanish speaking workers navigate this process. OFVGA has posted this video for access HERE.

ArriveCAN App

All travellers, including TFWs, are required to report travel, quarantine, and any symptoms via ArriveCAN.

The app is available in multiple languages, including Spanish.

To access the Spanish version of the app, the phone’s language settings must be set to Spanish – changing this setting is easy to do from within the ArriveCAN App settings.

There is now a Spanish video on the app and the requirement to report, which may support Spanish speaking workers in understanding the requirement and how to report using the app.

2021 Process for Temporary Foreign Worker Arrivals Update
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