My late grandfather immigrated from Switzerland as a farm labourer. He didn& #39;t have a lot of $. For the program thru which he came here, he had to work on the farm for a time, maybe 6 months, maybe a year, but then he moved to construction because the pay was better. 1/

He eventually met his wife, another Swiss immigrant, they started their own farm and raised 4 kids. They all became successful - in farming, insurance, and the ag industry. His grandchildren became farmers, teachers, computer scientists...a long list. 2/

About 15 years after my grandfather immigrated here, Canada established a program for farm labourers to come from Jamaica. Unlike my grandfather, these workers were only allowed to work here for a season. They were sent home after the harvest, often returning yr after yr. 3/

One official reason for this was the Jamaican workers (and later other Caribbean and Mexican workers) weren& #39;t considered & #39;suitable& #39; to integrate into Canadian culture. To this day, the overwhelming majority of workers who come thru this program can& #39;t become permanent residents. 4

It is not by accident that rural Canada is so white. I hadn& #39;t really considered b4 how about my grandfather& #39;s establishment here in context of the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, but have been considering it since writing this piece: https://www.tvo.org/article/fear-neglect-and-close-quarters-inside-ontarios-migrant-worker-health-crisis">https://www.tvo.org/article/f... 5/