Support available for B.C. farmers to cover health and safety expenses

The British Columbia government is rolling out support to help farmers who had to cover the costs of implementing COVID-19 health and safety measures.

The B.C. Seasonal Domestic Farm Worker COVID-19 Safety Program offers farmers up to $2,000 in reimbursement for on-farm expenses between April 1 and Oct. 31 that helped protect workers while also producing local fruits and vegetables.

The province notes that approximately 1,500 to 2,000 seasonal workers from across Canada are employed each summer in the Okanagan and Creston areas to harvest grapes and fruit, and that the B.C. government worked with B.C. fruit growers across the province this year to ensure worker camps and on-farm camps were following COVID-19 health and safety guidelines.

The program is designed to provide compensation for measures taken to provide sanitary conditions for workers, such as the purchases, rental or scheduled cleaning and disinfection of hand washing stations, bathing and laundry facilities, and bathrooms, portable or compost toilets. Reimbursements are also available for purchasing cleaning, disinfecting and sanitization products.

The province also notes that farmers can apply for reimbursement related to the infrastructure costs associated with keeping their workers on their properties, such as providing cooking facilities, shelters for shade and rain, and added Wi-Fi access.

In order to be eligible for the funding, the on-farm improvements must support the employer and workers to comply with their obligations under the Industrial Camp Order and/or the employer’s Infection Prevention and Control Plan or Communicable Disease Prevention Plan.

Applications must be submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries no later than 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 31, 2021. Claims forms must be submitted before 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 30, 2021.

The program has a budget of $50,000, and if that money is allocated before the Oct. 31 deadline, then the application intake will close early.

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