Producer agency in decisions to hire foreign labour in the Saskatchewan apiary sector

Abstract

Labour-intensive agricultural industries in Canada, and most recently in Saskatchewan, have become reliant on a foreign labour source as a means of ensuring survival within the structure of the global agricultural economy as domestic sources have declined or become too expensive. This study considers Anthony Giddens’ structuration theory in the examination of the hiring practices of producers operating within the apiary sector in Saskatchewan (1984). I argue that the inability of Saskatchewan apiarists to attract and retain an adequately sized and reliable labour force has caused producers to seek temporary foreign workers. In-depth interviews with producers were conducted in order to determine their reasons for shifting their recruiting and retention efforts to include foreign labour. Qualitative analysis of these interview data suggests that Saskatchewan producers have concluded that their only option is to take advantage of the opportunity to source labour from outside of the Canadian market.