Thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the great Canadian mushroom industry.

The agriculture sector creates about 570,000 jobs in Canada—one in 34 jobs—generating $150 billion and 70% of Canada's GDP. That's not small potatoes. About half of the workforce is employed in permanent occupations, and half are employed seasonally due to Canada's winters and growing season. Agriculture is facing a chronic and increasing labour shortage. The most recent statistics from the Canadian Agricultural HR Council identifies over 28,000 jobs that went unfilled in Canada's agriculture sector, costing the sector $3.5 billion in lost revenues.

Canada has a strong and adaptable high-tech mushroom sector within the ag sector that contributes over $1 billion to the Canadian economy. Mushrooms double in size every day. Canada grows over 150,000 tonnes of mushrooms annually. If you buy a fresh mushroom in a Canadian grocery store, it comes from one of our local Canadian mushroom farms. All of our workers are essential, and we are proud of them. Mushroom farms are big job creators in Canada, offering competitive wages.

Seventy per cent of employees on our farms are Canadian. We are constantly recruiting for local workers and use the temporary foreign worker program as a last resort for our high-demand, entry-level positions, such as the harvesting labour occupation. We are the largest sector employer for the temporary foreign worker program's agricultural stream, employing over 2,400 workers when Canadians do not apply. Mushroom farms pay good wages for a variety of jobs, including harvesting, human resources and growers. Our harvesting labourers make above minimum wage, as they are paid piece-rate. Some workers can make up to $29 an hour.

Canadian Mushroom Growers' Association members worked together on a mushroom fair labour and ethical recruitment program that supports employer best practices. One of the things our farms do is have our HR teams make sure workers are signed up for the correct programs, such as employment insurance. Sir, our agricultural stream workers are eligible to use employment insurance, the same as all Canadians. They use it when they are sick or injured. During COVID, they originally used EI. As they were often isolated, they used CERB following all public health regulations. In cases of short-term disability, some farms have short-term disability insurance plus EI coverage.

Another situation among our agricultural stream workers in the temporary foreign worker program is the use of EI for maternity leave when female agricultural stream workers get pregnant. They qualify for the standard 600 hours within a year, just like Canadians in the domestic workforce. They receive 55% of their income. Under EI rules, they get one year of maternity leave for up to a year and a half. At the end of the maternity standard leave allocation, workers return to work.

This is where we are having problems with the temporary foreign worker program: housing issues. We need housing options for workers beyond employer-paid housing, which is communal. Workers are paying $30 per week for housing, even though they're making above the prevailing wage or higher. We find that there are very stringent rules in the program for farm employers and workers. This is the only option they are allowing right now. We're not finding a lot of options being developed within the agriculture and seafood programs we're working on.

For our workers who are pregnant or who have children.... The babies cry and other workers, understandably, complain. We need flexibility for workers with families. We've been discussing this with the temporary foreign worker program directorate, but we are being ignored. The majority of mushroom farms offer excellent-quality, apartment-style housing, with only one to two workers per bedroom. We have a video that I think has been distributed to everyone. It will also be available within the submission.

Immigration Canada is encouraging families to come to Canada. If they apply to the agri-food pilot, their families can come to Canada with open work permits. We strongly support the agri-food immigration pilot, and we also strongly support the open work permits for spouses, but we need other options for housing. This is what we continue to explain.