With students back in school, Island farmers face new labour shortages

P.E.I. farmers are concerned about how they are going to bring the harvest in.

This has been a particularly difficult year for recruiting farm labour. A doubling of the provincial bursary for students helped over the summer, says the P.E.I. Agriculture Sector Council, attracting about 300 students.

"Back in the start of summer we had a lot of students that were filling a lot of those labour roles," said executive director Laurie Loane, speaking with Island Morning's Laura Chapin. 

"We are now into September, students are returning to other provinces to go back to school, so we're now facing another labour shortage."

Loane said she is hearing a lot of complaints from farmers about CERB, which they say is keeping people who might otherwise work at home. She said a wage top-up of $2 to $4 an hour from government could make farm work more attractive.

"Farmers want to try to pay as much as they possibly can, but it's difficult when some of our commodity groups haven't seen an increase in their price in quite some time," said Loane.

Pay not the only issue

P.E.I. Agriculture Minister Bloyce Thompson said the shortage of farm labour is a national problem, and one that has been going on for years.

"It has been challenging. It's not just this year because of COVID," said Thompson.

He said a wage subsidy is something government might consider, but he also noted the part-time, seasonal nature of the work is also an issue.

In an emailed statement to CBC News, Agriculture Canada said it has multiple measures in place to support the labour needs of farmers.

That includes $3 billion given to the provinces to spend on essential workers for wage top-ups, which could include farm labourers.

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