Event Details

You are invited to a public forum to examine the vital role of Migrant Workers in PEI’s food system and the largely policy-driven limitations that these workers face.
For some time, policies at the national and provincial level have acted as barriers to migrant workers’ rights. In PEI and across Canada, there is a growing movement to eliminate barriers for workers through public education, community solidarity, and changes to policies at national and provincial levels.
The Forum will be held at the PEI Farm Centre on Friday, April 27 from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. (Registration will open at 8:30 am.) It will feature several guest speakers:
Marisa Berry Méndez (Canadian Council for Refugees), who works on issues related to the settlement and integration of refugees and other vulnerable migrants;
Gabriel Allahdua (Justice for Migrant Workers), a migrant worker from St. Lucia and member of Justice for Migrant Workers, a volunteer-run migrant worker advocacy organization located in Ontario; and
Connie Sorio (KAIROS Canada), a community organizer and advocate for the rights and welfare of temporary foreign workers in Canada.
There will be presentations and group discussions on topics such as health care, employment standards, housing access, and the role of Migrant Workers in our economy. The day will conclude with a presentation of the strategies and next steps for action, as determined through participants’ discussion on each topic.
This event is organized by Cooper Institute and the PEI Action Team for Migrant Worker Rights, which includes representatives from the Council of Canadians (PEI), Breaking the Silence Maritimes Guatemala Solidarity Network, PEI Food Security Network, and others. It is supported by the Canadian Union of Public Employees and CUPE-PEI, United Food and Commercial Workers, the United Church of Canada (Maritime Conference and PEI Presbytery), KAIROS and Kairos Atlantic.