Advancing Decent Work in Canada’s Food Systems

Over the past year, Canada’s agri-food sector has become an important testing ground for how global commitments to decent work can be translated into national action. This was particularly evident at the Decent Work Forum for the Agrifood Sector, a tripartite gathering convened for the second consecutive year by UFCW Canada and the IUF in Toronto. The forum brought together government ministries, agrifood companies, labour organisations, researchers, and civil society partners to examine how the ILO Policy Guidelines for the Promotion of Decent Work in the Agri-Food Sector can be applied across Canada’s food supply chain. Discussions highlighted the ongoing need to align workers’ rights, employer priorities, and government policy objectives to strengthen fairness and resilience in the sector. For our coalition, the event offered important insights and reinforced how sustained engagement and collaboration can help shape decent work outcomes in North America.

Developments Since February’s Organising Efforts

Last February, our coalition drew attention to significant developments at Highline Mushrooms in British Columbia, where approximately 400 workers, many who were migrant and temporary foreign workers, unionised with UFCW Local 1518, forming one of the largest groups of farmworkers to organise in Canada. Just weeks later, workers ratified their first collective agreement with 98% worker support, securing wage increases, recall rights, improvements to housing conditions, and support related to permanent residency applications.

Temporary foreign workers frequently face long hours, precarious employment arrangements, and limited protections. The Highline agreement provided an example of how collective bargaining can address these challenges. Looking back now, that moment feels like just the starting point for everything that has unfolded in the months since.

Canada Convenes a Tripartite Decent Work Forum

In November, UFCW Canada and the IUF convened the Decent Work Forum in Toronto, bringing together labour leaders, agrifood companies, federal ministries, researchers, and civil society organisations.

The forum drew on new research conducted by Dalhousie University, St. Thomas University, and McMaster University, which provided a realist review of how Canada is implementing the ILO Decent Work Guidelines across agriculture, meat processing, and seafood processing. The study analysed 207 academic and grey-literature sources published between 2020 and 2024 and identified key gaps between formal rights and actual practice, including vulnerabilities linked to employer-specific work permits and the need for stronger enforcement, more robust social protections, and improved tripartite governance mechanisms.

This was the first national tripartite forum in Canada focused specifically on operationalizing the ILO Policy Guidelines for the Promotion of Decent Work in the Agri-Food Sector, guidelines that this coalition helped champion globally. Discussions paid particular attention to the role of migrant and seasonal workers, who continue to support core segments of the industry while facing structural barriers that limit their access to rights and protections.

What made the event particularly impactful was how closely it echoed the themes from the Highline Mushrooms agreement, that decent work is not a policy idea, it is a practical, urgent need felt by real people across fields, farms, and processing plants.

Due Diligence and Labour Rights Gaining Policy Attention

Another consistent theme across the forum was the increasing expectation that companies demonstrate responsibility for labour conditions throughout their supply chains. Legal experts reviewed Canada’s new forced and child labour reporting legislation (S-211), Germany’s due diligence framework, and broader global developments in human rights due diligence.

While collective bargaining strengthens worker rights at a specific workplace, due diligence frameworks help enterprises to proactively manage potential and actual adverse human rights violations throughout their operations.

Implications for Our Coalition

For the Decent Work for Equitable Food Systems Coalition, these developments reinforce the importance of sustained collective action and coordinated advocacy.

• Global advocacy is informing national discussions: The ILO Guidelines are increasingly referenced in Canadian policy dialogues. As Christine Campeau, Global Policy Director for Food and Nutrition Systems at CARE International and Chairperson of the Social Partners Discussion that developed the Guidelines, noted, “the Guidelines were not meant to sit on a shelf; they were designed to help social partners build fairer and more resilient food systems, together.”  That spirit of cooperation was evident throughout the Toronto forum.
• Worker-led initiatives are shaping policy agendas: The Highline Mushrooms agreement is now frequently cited by companies, unions, and government agencies as an example of how decent work principles can be translated into concrete practice. Issues such as housing standards, residency pathways, and rights protections featured prominently in national conversations months later.
• Cross-sector alignment is increasing: Major companies, labour organisations, and government representatives are increasingly using shared terminology around due diligence, transparency, and fair labour practices. While this alignment remains emergent, it presents opportunities for further progress.
• The coalition has an ongoing role: Continued coordination, shared learning, and advocacy will be essential moving forward. There are opportunities to integrate lessons from Canada into our own regions, shape policy conversations, and ensure that global standards become local realities.

Campeau reminded participants, “we protect ourselves when we protect the most vulnerable. The only way that we can solve these problems and ensure decent work for everyone is really all sectors and stakeholders together. We need the employers, the government, the workers, the unions, everybody at the table sharing their knowledge, their expertise, what they can and can’t do, so that we can find a good pathway forward.”

These developments in North America demonstrate that coordinated action among workers, employers, and advocates can contribute to meaningful improvements in labour practices.