A Case for Certified Interpreters for Participants in the Canada/Mexico Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program

The rapid growth of Ontario's greenhouse vegetable industry is largely due to a guaranteed supply of Mexicans who participate in the Canada/Mexico Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (C/MSAWP). Agriculture is a dangerous occupation and, although Mexican farm workers have the right to health care while they are in Canada, they lack access to certified interpretation services in the province's hospital and clinics. This paper draws on the results of a pilot study of 30 Mexican farm workers in southwestern Ontario to demonstrate their need for such services, not only for physical illnesses and injuries sustained on the job, but for the culturally constructed illness of nervios (nerves). It examines the barriers in access to certified interpreters, namely, the Canada Health Act and the differing agendas of primary and secondary stakeholders in the C/MSAWP. Finally, it addresses the wider economic, political, health, and social benefits of providing such services to Mexican farm workers within the context of the C/MSAWP in Ontario and, by extension, in other provinces that participate in the program.