The recent legalization of recreational Cannabis throughout Canada has seen a proliferation of licensed producers (LPs). Ontario has the largest share of producers in the country (Licensed Producers Canada, 2019), with more than 15 licensed marijuana growers located in southwestern Ontario, ranging from greenhouses and indoor growing facilities to processing plants and farms (Carruthers, 2019). Statistics Canada (2018) recently reported a 266 percent increase in the number of jobs nationwide in the cannabis industry year-over-year, with half of those clustered in Ontario. The demand for labour has exceeded domestic supply and developed a need for more migrant workers to handle the production and harvest of cannabis.
As a new industry, the workers are exposed to various products in the workplace that may be harmful to their health, such as the handling of plants, which may lead to various health risks. Also as a new group of migrant workers, brought in under the Temporary Workers Program, we wanted to investigate if improvements in health and safety are being realized for this new cohort entering a new and flourishing industry, where migrant work is important to the production, packaging and distribution of cannabis.
What was our approach?
The research team investigated the realities of this emerging industry and what it means for migrant workers in the sector. Of particular interest was the experiences of the growing numbers of migrant workers in an industry that is still struggling with legitimacy acceptance. In what ways is the sector grappling with its own resilience challenges that may impact the workforce? How have local communities and services utilized by migrants been impacted by the growth of this sector and the subsequent growth of a migrant workforce? This had relevance as well in terms of labour rights, and emerging legislative compliance. As no scholarship yet exists for this industry on migration and resilience, our study was one of the first studies on migrants working in the cannabis industry, the resilience of the sector and the communities in which the industry is based, and the resilience of migrants working in the sector.
We interviewed about 25+ migrant workers, given the time constraints of this project. They were recruited with posters and announcements through local churches, ESL programs, libraries, grocery stores, ethnic restaurants, and assistance through other local organizations such as UFCW, IAVGO, and FARM.
We carried out 60-minute interviews that asked specific questions about integration into the community, integration into their workplaces, and specific questions about their treatment in the workplace, specifically their fair treatment, access to equal rights, and their health and safety training and/or issues they have faced. We also wanted to know how they build resilience to the hardships they may face while living and working in Canada. Some of these workers may have worked in other farming industries and we wanted to know if they compare their work conditions in the different faces of the agricultural sector, if possible. The interview questions and protocols were fully-flushed out once we received approval. We had to conduct secondary data to learn more about the safety exposures to the plants and processes within the cannabis plants themselves to better understand the hazards, risks, and controls used.
Principal Investigators:
- Deborah McPhee, Ph.D., Professor of Human Resource Management, Goodman School of Business, Brock University – dmcphee@brocku.ca
Co-investigators:
- Jenna L. Hennebry, Ph.D., Co-Founder/Senior Research Associate, International Migration Research Centre, Associate Professor, Balsillie School of International Affairs, Graduate Program Co-ordinator, Communication Studies, Program Co-ordinator, Women and Gender Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University
- Dr. Francine Schlosser, Ph.D., Odette Professor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Odette School of Business, University of Windsor
Community Partners:
- Reza Shahbazi, Executive Director, New Canadians’ Centre of Excellence Inc. (NCCE), Windsor, Ontario
- Valerie Wolfe, Executive Director, South Central Region, Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers, Hamilton, Ontario
- Michelle Tew, Occupational Health Nurse, RN, BScN, DOHS, COHN(C), Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers
- Eduardo Huesca, Program Coordinator at Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers Inc., Toronto, Canada Area
- Jessica Ponting, Community Legal Worker, IAVGO Community Legal Clinic, Toronto, Ontario
