BERESFORD CRUMBIE of Milestone, Hanover, is one of the stalwarts of the Canadian Farm Work Programme (CFWP).
Not only has the 72-year-old farm worker been with the programme since its inception 34 years ago, he has also been working at the same tobacco and apple farm. In 1966 when the programme started, Mr. Crumbie was one of only 200 seasonal workers who travelled to Canada. Today, he is among 5,000 Jamaicans, including a few women, working on over 400 farms in the province of Ontario.
Mr. Crumbie thanks the farm work programme for giving him the means by which to bring up his nine children. He credits a strong belief in God, eating right and "drinking right" as the reasons for his strength over all the years. He is also respected by his co-workers for his hard work and dedication.
Minister of Labour and Social Security, Donald Buchanan, paid tribute to Mr. Crumbie while on a recent tour of the Cunningham Farm, located in the tobacco belt of Southern Ontario.
The Minister was on his first trip to Canada since assuming the Labour and Social Security portfolio in February. He toured farms which are part of the CFWP to meet employers, to observe the accommodations for the workers and to answer questions.
The Minister reminded the workers that the programme was important to both Jamaica and Canada. "We expect that while you're here, you'll be properly treated and equally we expect that you are going to give full value to the employers for the pay they are providing you," he said.
Gary Cooper, president of the Foreign Agricultural Resources Management Services (FARMS) and owner of Appletyme Orchard, who has 28 Jamaican workers on his tobacco, strawberry and apple farm, said he was pleased with the quality of workers coming out of Jamaica.
"As an employer, I am spoilt, because my workers are from Jamaica and some of them have been with me for 23 years. When you get men who are with you for as long as 23 years, they have given up part of their lives to help you build a dream and they eventually become apart of your extended family," he said.
At a reception hosted by another employer, Frank Menich, who has 18 Jamaican workers on his tobacco and ginseng farm, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and chairman of the Farm Work Management Committee, Anthony Irons, thanked the Canadian employers for taking Jamaican workers each year.
Also accompanying Minister Buchanan on the tour were, Jamaica's High Commissioner to Canada, His Excellency Raymond Wolfe; and members of the Farm Work Management Committee - Deputy Financial Secretary, Patricia Richardson; Rev. Oliver Daley; National Workers Union representative, Vin Morrison and Bustamante Industrial Trade Union representative, Wycliffe Matthews.
