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Thesis

Harvesting power and subjugation: Canada's seasonal agricultural workers program in historical context

Date

2012

Authors

Clare Glassco

Abstract

This thesis explores the Canadian state's rationale for the creation and perpetuation of the Seasonal Agricultural Worker's Program (SAWP). Informed by and building on the writing of Canadian political economists, this thesis provides a composite history of the program from its creation in 1966 to its current-day incarnation. While many scholars have looked to neo-liberalism to analyze the program, SAWP existed long before the term entered the political lexicon and instead fits into a much longer history of racialized immigration and labour policies in Canada. Therefore, though we need to understand the changes wrought by neo-liberalism, we must also acknowledge the historical continuities inherent in SAWP: no matter who was in office, and what political ideology they subscribed to, migrant labour schemes have consistently been relied onto support the state's project of aiding the accumulation of wealth and filling the labour vacuum left behind by Canadians who gained safer, more secure, and more lucrative employment elsewhere.

Number of pages

132

University

Trent University

Academic department

Faculty of Arts and Science

Degree

History M.A. Graduate Program

Place published

Peterborough, Ontario

Notes

Paper copy in MWR

Links

Economic sectors

General relevance - all sectors

Content types

Policy analysis, Current Policy, and Past policies

Languages

English