Press Release: Key wins for five migrant farm workers in Nova Scotia

Halifax, Nova Scotia (February 13, 2025) - Five migrant workers supported by the Centre for Migrant Worker Rights Nova Scotia (CMWR NS) have secured a number of recent wins in the areas of healthcare, labour rights and Workers’ Compensation.  

Yesterday, the Canadian Health Coalition announced that cancer survivor and former migrant worker Kerian Burnett will receive the inaugural Nell Toussaint Award for Universal Health Care. Kerian bravely spoke out about her story, won healthcare coverage for life-saving cancer treatments, and continues to advocate for MSI coverage for all migrant workers in Nova Scotia as a member of CMWR NS.

In addition, three women migrant workers from Jamaica who were employed at Millen Farms in 2021 will finally receive their unpaid wages. The company was ordered to pay the Workers in 2023, but chose to appeal. On January 24, 2025, the Labour Board again sided with the Workers.

“I feel great that after all this time the Labour Board decided in our favor and our hard work (in the hot sun) was not done in vain,” said one of the three Workers.

Lastly, a Mexican migrant worker diagnosed with osteoarthritis in his knee after working on a Nova Scotia farm for 5 years, will finally receive Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) benefits. Despite having his WCB claim rejected twice, he persisted and ultimately won an appeal on December 11, 2024.

“Having worked with the company for 5 years, I wanted to think that they saw me as important. But, when this happened to me, I was disposable. Send him back and then send us another worker - this situation is seen very often in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP). If someone is no longer useful to you, throw them away and ask for another one. So, this story is an achievement then,” said the Worker.

“Migrant workers feed us. As we buy more local in Nova Scotia, we must ensure that migrant worker rights are being respected. More must be done by the province and feds, including targeted and unannounced labour and safety inspections, open work permits on arrival, and permanent residence status on arrival,” said Stacey Gomez, Executive Director of CMWR NS, which provided support to the five migrant workers in these years-long fights for justice.

These wins come on the heels of a scathing new report by Amnesty International examining labour exploitation of migrant workers in Canada.