Under the vaulted ceiling of the Notre-Dame-de-Pompei church, the sparse crowd listens in silence to the music that emanates from the small orchestra. For the hundred agricultural workers present, all from Latin America, this Sunday afternoon is not ordinary: it is rather a snippet of their home, an ephemeral return home.
It has become a tradition: every year for 15 years, the Office of Cultural and Ritual Communities of the Catholic Church in Montreal and the Spanish-speaking Catholic Missions have organized a mass in Spanish for seasonal agricultural workers.
Juan Antonio does not miss the appointment. After all, it’s for an 18e year in a row that he has spent the summer in Quebec. He has been picking potatoes in the town of Saint-Michel, in Montérégie, since April. As usual, he said goodbye to his five children, who remained with their mother in Mexico.
“The tallest is 17 and the smallest is 3,” he says in Spanish wistfully. “They are used to me leaving, but I miss them. He stops, then resumes. “It’s more difficult for the little one. Does she understand where her father goes for six months? “No, I don’t think so,” he blurts out, a sad smile on his face.
Goodbyes remain difficult despite the passing years, but at least Juan Antonio’s working conditions are good here. He is not one of those seasonal workers who have witnessed real horror stories in recent years regarding their working conditions.
“Juan Antonio knows his rights,” proudly asserts Luis Adame, before turning abruptly to his compatriot, as if to be certain. “Do you have your diary? Juan Antonio nods. He lined up to pick up an agenda, like everyone else after mass.
Luis Adame has been working for the Migrant Agricultural Workers Assistance Network of Quebec for eight months. Every day, he goes to the Montreal airport to welcome seasonal workers who set foot in the country.
“My job is to give information to agricultural workers,” he explains. The small diary he distributes after mass is indeed much more than a diary: there are several QR codes that lead to resources concerning working conditions or in the event of psychological harassment by the employer. “If there is a complaint against an employer, we can provide legal assistance. »
And there are complaints. “There are a lot of problems with the mistreatment of the bosses on the workers, or when the latter do not receive a letter to go to the hospital”, continues Mr. Adame.
A controversial license
The mass lasts more than an hour, during which the crowd gathers silently. At the entrance to the church are sacks filled with beets and green cabbages: the workers collected them themselves at work and brought them as an offering. They will then be sent to Sainte-Thérèse, where an organization will distribute them to the poorest.
“The working conditions here are much better than in other places, notes Alessandra Santopadre. But it depends a lot on the farms. The agent for the office of cultural and ritual communities of the Diocese of Montreal has been involved in the organization of the mass for several years, in addition to being involved all year round to help seasonal workers. “They have sometimes very heavy schedules,” she says. Mme Santopadre proudly wears a sweater that reads a quote from Pope Francis: “It’s not just about migrants.”
One of the major problems in the file remains in his eyes that of the work permit: seasonal workers generally obtain a closed work permit, which means that they can only work for one employer, under penalty of losing their permit. “It is a political choice of the government’s migration laws,” she denounces.
She campaigns for the normalization of the open work permit, or even more. “These people have been coming for years. Now is the time to give them permanent residency, to give them the opportunity to stay and bring their families. »
The Consul General of Guatemala in Montreal, Julissa Hengstenberg Delgado, is more nuanced. “I think you have to see the pros and cons that there may be with an open licence,” she says cautiously. If the workers have the right to move, it can create instability, but for the workers, it is unfair if they cannot move when things go wrong. »
Once the mass is over, she participates in the small outdoor tea party. Workers come to see her, smiles on their faces and Ziploc bags of plain crisps in their hands. They all want their photo with the consul, who says that about 18,000 Guatemalan workers come to work in Quebec each year.
“For the majority, I think it’s going well,” she says, although she concedes that there are “complicated, difficult cases”.
She read the reports, which appeared in the last few months, which reported poor working conditions. “We need the intervention of the Canadian authorities to really solve the problem, because they are aware of what is happening,” she asserts, before becoming indignant. “How come some employers who treat their employees badly still have a license to hire, and how come recruitment agencies still dare to send them workers? “His conclusion is clear:” We will try to hunt them. »
At least, many are satisfied with their jobs. Like Jesus, who watches his comrades engage in a fierce hoop throwing competition in front of the church. “The accommodations are very good, and I have good ties with my boss,” says the man who is living his third summer in Quebec at Jardins Hamelin, in Saint-Michel.
But that’s not enough to make her forget the pain of leaving her three children, aged 3 to 11, who stayed in Mexico. “I’m sad, but at least I only work three months here,” he says smiling. Tomorrow he will be back in the potato field. 30 degrees are announced.