 My name is Gabriel Aladwa. I'm from St. Lucia, the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. I've been a migrant farm worker for the past four years. The reason why I came to Canada is mainly for economic reasons. In my home country, unemployment is high. The situation is really, really worse as a result of the global financial crisis and also as a result of the WTO ruling where our bananas that had preference in England now no longer enjoys that preference. As a result of that, lots of the farmers that were involved in the cultivation of bananas were driven off the land. My situation is, I used to buy a lot of produce from those farmers and as a result of a lot of the farmers that were driven off the land and also as a result of a hurricane that destroyed most of the banana fields. In addition to these elements, there's also the outbreak of a major disease called black cicatoka, which is very costly to control. Because of that, because of these main reasons I became unemployed. And at that time, that was maybe the lowest point in my life because I had a family to support and being unemployed. It was during that time I got the opportunity to come to Canada. And I was really, really grateful for that because my economic situation at that time was really, really challenging. And when I got the opportunity to come to Canada, that was maybe the greatest point in my life. I was really grateful for Canada for giving me a second chance in my life. When I got to Canada, there were lots of challenges. My expectations of Canada and reality in Canada, there's a big difference. And the gap between my expectations and reality is what I call the 20 dark sides of Canada. These challenges are really, really significant. But the key ones that are really, really disturbing, I think, are one, I'm tied to the farm by way of a tied work permit. I cannot work anywhere else in Canada, but tied to the farm. And on top of that, my contract is not enforceable. There's nothing I can do with my contract. Other elements, though, I'm tied to the farm. My contract is not enforceable. The farmer controls my housing and the housing is overcrowded. The housing is below standard and it is not regulated. Other issues would be on the farm, the farmer controls the housing. I do not get overtime pay. We have no internet to communicate with our families. There were lots of serious challenges that I call the 20 dark side. But on the government side, the government of Canada sees it fit that migrant farm workers have no rights to apply for status. In Canada, status means rights. We have no rights to apply for rights. In Canada, the government of Canada, federal government, sees it fit to review the program without consulting the workers who are impacted by the program. In Canada, the federal government sees it fit to do a consultation without inviting us. The federal government also sees it fit not to sign, ratify and implement the UN International Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and the Families. By coming to Canada, I came to Canada for economic reasons, but also for the goal of breaking out of the cycle of poverty. By coming to Canada, one of the serious challenges I face as a result of being in Canada is that I am physically separated from my family. By being physically separated from my family, we are cut off. There is very little communication and physical separation means a lot. For example, specifically for my situation, I have two kids and their mom passed away 11 years ago. My son just started college and within two months he quit school. Is that a formula for a better society or isn't that a formula for continuing a vicious cycle of poverty and social ills? My daughter from the time I've been coming to Canada, my daughter's academic performance has been declining. Is that a formula for getting out of poverty or isn't that a formula for continuing social ills? These are the real things I left behind. The hope of getting out of poverty, the hope of doing better for my family, and I'm sorry to say but the reality is the program is failing me and my family. It's my hope and my dream that we contribute to EI and social programs that we can gainfully benefit from these programs. By being in Canada, we cannot go to school. We cannot better our education. That is a real problem. By being on the program, we are not allowed to unionize. I'm hoping that we will be able to mobilize support and pressure the government to allow farm workers to get status because status is the only link that will allow us to take most of these programs. In addition to being in Canada, my hope and dreams are I'll be able to get to live with my children. On the program, it physically separates us but it's all the status that can help us to bring our families in Canada where we can be together and basically access programs that can really lead us out of poverty and out of social ills. What I would like to say is that Canada pride itself on justice, on fairness, on access, on equality. But the truth is in Canada, there are different sets of rules. There are rules for certain group of people and there are different rules for another set of people. People work in Canada. They fall in a category where we have no status and we have no rights. The way the program is presented to me to other people is that it's an opportunity to make an income. It's an opportunity to better your life. It's an opportunity to get out of poverty and out of social ills. That's how it's presented. But it's only when you get into the program that you really get into see the social ills and the dark sides of Canada. That's how I call it. And the truth is all these problems are because they are all man-made problems. That's the beauty about it. They are all man-made and they can be changed. But how can they be changed is by we getting together and unite and bring about those many full changes.