LCSFS Event: Growing A Just Food System, Migrant Labour in Canada

The Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, supported by the UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity, and Sustainability Studies, is hosting an upcoming panel event on the intersections of migrant labour justice and sustainable food systems.
Joined by activist, writer, and former migrant farm worker Gabriel Allahdua, as well as Drs. Janet McLaughlin and Jenna Hennebry, the panel will take a close look at the role of migrant labour program reform in building just and sustainable food systems within Canada. Speakers will share their experiences with the current food system and the people who grow our food as they reflect on how the existing agricultural system impacts migrant workers’ health and wellbeing.

Register here.

Speakers

Andrew Spring (Moderator, The Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems) 

Gabriel Allahdua (Activists, Author of Harvesting Freedom)  

Gabriel Allahdua is a leading voice in the migrant justice movement. As an organizer with Justicia for Migrant Workers and an outreach worker with The Neighbourhood Organization, Allahdua provides services to migrant workers across southwestern Ontario. Originally from St. Lucia, Allahdua worked as a migrant farm worker in the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program from 2012 to 2015 before leaving the program to seek permanent residency in Canada.

Janet McLaughlin (Professor, Community Health, Wilfrid Laurier University) 

Janet McLaughlin, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Health Studies and a Research Associate at the International Migration Research Centre at Wilfrid Laurier University. Since 2004, she has been conducting research on issues related to migrant agricultural workers' health and human rights, and their access to health care and protections in Canada, Mexico, and Jamaica. Dr. McLaughlin is also the co-founder and co-coordinator of the Migrant Worker Health Project and the Migrant Worker Health Expert Working Group (www.migrantworker.ca), initiatives that aim to increase health accessibility, awareness, and protections for migrant workers. 

Jenna Hennebry (Professor, Communication Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University) 

Dr. Jenna Hennebry is a full professor at Wilfrid Laurier University and the Balsillie School of International Affairs. She is a widely recognized international expert in temporary labour migration, migrant rights and gender. Co-founder of the International Migration Research Centre (IMRC) and the Migrant Worker Health Project, and founder of the Gender+Migration Hub, she has led numerous international, national and local initiatives related to the human and labour rights, gender equality and health of migrant workers in temporary migration regimes globally.