For our first-ever in-person recording of Dignity and Joy, migrant rights activist Gabriel Allahdua sits down in the studio with host Sheldomar Elliott to discuss migrant worker rights in the context of Canada’s deeply flawed approach to staffing the agriculture sector. Gabriel shares the ups and downs of his relationship with this country as an immigrant and former migrant agricultural worker. The conversation came fresh off the drop of a United Nations report denouncing Canada’s temporary foreign worker program as a “breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery” and citing wage theft, excessive work hours and physical abuse among the conditions migrants are forced to endure. Gabriel makes clear that while this isn’t news to him and his comrades who have long been advocating against the abuses toward migrant workers, it is crucial that we continue increasing awareness and ending the silence around the harms caused by the agriculture industry in Canada, and demand better for the workers who make it possible to put food on our tables.
Transcript:
Gabriel Allahdua:
They say we are in the age of information, information age, but I want to tell the public, yes, we’re in the information age, but there’s also a lot of misinformation. Make sure you get your information from the horse’s mouth, from the horse’s mouth. Always question, whose stories are we familiar with? Is it the victor or the victim? That’s important. I discovered that I am many things in Canada. I discovered I’m a God, an angel, a slave, a half human and a lab rat. I lived it, experienced it. And the beautiful thing is, everybody deserves to be treated with dignity, with respect, and so on. But according to Canadian law, Canadian system, some people have more rights than others.
Renée D’Souza
You’re listening to Dignity and Joy, a podcast from FoodShare. On the pod, we confront the systems of oppression that impact who has access to food and the land it’s grown on, and who doesn’t. Achieving something better will take hard work from all of us, and can only be done if we listen closely to the people who are already leading change in the way we think about food.
FoodShare’s Sheldomar Elliott delves into the connections between food and justice with folks who have their fingers on the pulse and their hands in the soil. Together, they dream in colour and consider what it would take to build a just and hopeful city, a city where everyone can feed themselves, their loved ones and their community with dignity and with joy.
Sheldomar Elliott
Hi, I’m Sheldomar Elliott, and welcome to this episode of Dignity and oy, a podcast from FoodShare. Today, our guest is Gabriel Allahdua. Originally from St Lucia, Gabriel worked as a migrant farm worker in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program for four years, from 2012 to 2015, before leaving the program to seek permanent residency in Canada.
Today, he’s a leading voice in the Migrant Justice Movement. Gabriel is an organizer for Justice for Migrant Workers and an outreach worker with the Neighbourhood Organization, providing services to migrant workers across southwestern Ontario. Committed to speaking up against Canada’s culture of silence around the exploitation of migrant workers, Gabriel’s writing and activism makes it clear that the temporary foreign workers program operates akin to modern day slavery. His book, Harvesting Freedom: The Life of A Migrant Worker in Canada, is a must-read and must-understand for all and anyone who eats food in this country.
Despite all he has seen and been through, Gabriel’s message is consistently one of hope that calls on us to do better and to treat one another as true equals. He encourages us to take it back to basics, and envision a food system where we can know that those taking care of our food are also taken care of too.
We’re here for our first ever in person recording of dignity and joy podcast. Usually we record the pod online, so it’s wonderful that we’re able to get together using the free studio space available through the Toronto Public Library’s Digital Innovation Lab.
I also want to start by acknowledging that we’re here in Toronto, sacred land, that is the traditional territories of the Wendat, Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and the Mississaugas of the credit. And that this territory is covered by the dish with One Spoon Wampum, belt covenants. At FoodShare, we think it’s important to start any conversation on this land by recognizing the many nations of indigenous peoples who presently live on this land, those who have spent time here, and the ancestors who have hunted and gathered on this land. I also want to acknowledge the many people of African descent who are not settlers, but whose ancestors were forcibly displaced as part of the transatlantic slave trade, brought against their will, and made to work on these lands. At FoodShare, we believe that advancing Indigenous sovereignty is inextricably linked to Black liberation, and we remain committed to advancing both. So welcome Gabriel, welcome to the podcast.
Gabriel Allahdua
Thank you.
Sheldomar Elliott
Typically, what we do at the beginning is just some really easy icebreakers to kind of just like, get the ball rolling a little bit. What is one of your favorite restaurants in the city that you feel like not enough people know about?
Gabriel Allahdua
I am not, that’s a very tough question, because I hardly eat out. Okay, the way I was raised is to cook every day, fresh food from scratch, and eating out is not a big thing that I do, so I’m still learning the city.
Sheldomar Elliott
Okay, that’s a valid answer. No problem. If you had to do a 10 minute presentation on a topic that is interesting to you, what would it be?
Gabriel Allahdua
What would it be? Educating people about migrant justice in Canada. Because Canada has a culture of silence. Very few people know about it. And also, there are lots of who people like to, I call it the five Ds of Canada. Some people like to deny this program, or downplay it or delay it. They really deflect the conversation. So migrant justice would be, surely my top priority.
Sheldomar Elliott
Okay, yeah, that’s a great answer there. If there is one genre of music you can listen to for the rest of your life. What would it be?
Gabriel Allahdua
I don’t know. Reggae is in my blood. I’m from the Caribbean. And for some reason, you said your heritage is partly Jamaican, and Jamaican music is really, really deeply rooted in my country, Saint Lucia. Well, reggae is like a Caribbean thing, and and also, I guess it has a lot of history, the fight for liberation and so on. And reggae music is just one of that, that kind of music that really brings that out.
Sheldomar Elliott
Of course, yeah, reggae is such a beautiful genre, too. Of course, people see it as uplifting. But like you said, too, it’s music of resistance and resilience.
Gabriel Allahdua
Yeah.
Sheldomar Elliott
Last one here, before we jump into the other conversation, who is one of your role models?
Gabriel Allahdua
Oh, one of my role models. Well, I have a lot of them. It just depends on what aspect of life I’m looking at.
Sheldomar Elliott
Any that come to mind? I know it’s hard to pick one.
Gabriel Allahdua
I am not very good with names, but like SL Wessel, I have problems pronouncing.
Sheldomar Elliott
Okay.
Gabriel Allahdua
Yeah, that’s one. And also, I don’t remember names, but it’s a story about three school boys from Italy. They dropped out of school and a priest taught them how to read and write. And those boys, I quoted them in my book, and it’s that story I came across in a book called Helping Health Workers Learn. Those boys, they said, “Those who are fond of the comfortable and the fortunate, stay out of politics because they want nothing to change. How can you say you love human beings who are marked by unjust laws and not fight for better laws?” So yeah.
Sheldomar Elliott
There you go. I wasn’t expecting you to pull out the whole quote, so thank you for that. Yeah, Gabriel, happy to have you here. And you mentioned your book, which I want to jump into a little afterward. But I know a lot of the work and activism that you do is around migration and labour, and you talk about this idea of dreaming of Canada. And I have a good friend of mine who’s mentioned in the past that to him, Canada has the best public relations team ever, because it sells this dream out to everyone that, like, we have it all together, and if you come you have plenty of opportunity. But I’m sure, as you know very well, that isn’t the case.
So I’d love to hear from you, like, what is your story of the dream, and how do you see it sort of packaged and sold to people around the world, maybe specifically the Caribbean where you’re from?
Gabriel Allahdua
Yeah, in my home country, Canada has been good to me on many occasions. In my home country, between 1986 and 1989 I completed a high school education, thanks to Canada. During that time, and many years after that, it was really difficult to get a spot at a secondary school. Why? Because we had very limited secondary school places, and the population was really growing, so you had to be among the best to get to a secondary school. My performance during that time was very average, so I wasn’t among the best.
So thanks to Canada, I got a second chance to complete a secondary school education. Why? Canada gifted my country for a secondary school, and it was at that school I was able to complete a secondary school education. That was the first time that Canada came directly into my life. There are lots of projects that Canada gifted my country, maybe the largest dam, water collection we have. It was funded by Canada.
Imagine, I was in Guyana, and Canada came into my life. How did Canada come into my life? I did not have a scholarship, but five of my friends from Grenada, they all had scholarships funded by the Canadian government. I was able to help those guys with their studies, and they sponsored my food. So literally, like I was getting a stipend, not having a scholarship, but like I was getting a stipend. So in my home country, Canada has been good to me in so many ways.
And the other thing is, in my country, in my culture, no news is good news. We don’t hear anything about the injustice that migrant workers face. We don’t hear anything bad about anything in Canada. So no news is good news. When I got the opportunity to come to Canada, I thought I was coming to the perfect place. No news is good news. Everything must be right. Nobody complains. Nobody sees anything. And Canada is helping me in my home country. And the kind of projects they do, they do not do simple things, but it’s very on a big scale that people can see. You don’t hear anything bad. So, so Canada is not just a country to us. Canada is a study. People look up to Canada. And I thought I was coming to that great place where everything is perfect.
Sheldomar Elliott
Right. You arrive, though, but then you find out that that isn’t the case, right? And you mentioned briefly the Temporary Foreign Workers Program, perhaps for people who may not know what that is, do you mind explaining a little bit of that program and then perhaps your relationship to it?
Gabriel Allahdua
Canada has several programs that bring in workers here. The one that I’m very familiar with is called the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program. It started in Jamaica in 1966 and with that program, workers can come here for a maximum of eight months. Some workers come here under that program for as little as six weeks, and pretty soon they’ll be coming to harvest apples. Okay, as short as six weeks, but a maximum of eight months under that particular program. By December 15, every worker must be out of Canada. December 15, kind of point, right?
With that program, we can only work for one employer, so being tied to the employer. The laws that are designed to protect workers in Canada, migrant workers are excluded from a lot of those things, like overtime pay, so many things, we are excluded from that. And D, denied. Being a migrant worker, we are denied lots of basic, basic things in Canada. And in Canada, what I realized, we live on the farmers’ property. And in Ontario, lots of the farms, what do you see? Private Property. No Trespassing. And for workers to be living on the property that’s private, what does that make us? Does that make us a human being in Canada?
The beautiful thing about Canada, it’s beautiful on one hand, but it’s really dark on the other hand. Canada is very, very, very consistent. Consistently. Canada has programs in place that dehumanize and exploit people, consistently. That’s the beauty about it. They’re consistent with that. However, because very few people know about it, and that’s by design, we are made invisible. We are kept on the farm, and so on. Very few people know about it. That’s why I’m really grateful for this opportunity to enlighten people.
Sheldomar Elliott
Of course, yeah. I find it really interesting that, and I want to dive a bit more into the program and even some more recent news. But you find a way to still see the good in Canada, although you know that. And I’m just curious, from you, like, how do you walk that balance of seeing, you know, the good and the bad? I guess it comes from some of those early opportunities you had back home, and I guess, Canada’s role in supporting you and doing some of that. But yeah, just like on an individual level, how do you walk that line of seeing the good and the bad when a lot of people would typically only see the bad or only the good?
Gabriel Allahdua
I believe in that principle: contrasting. The same way there’s dark, there’s also light, okay? In every situation, I personally believe it may be bad, but there must be something good in it, right? And that that is, I guess it’s my mindset, I guess so. But also knowing that in every country, in every culture, there’s good and there’s bad. In every culture, all right? From my experience in Canada, I met really, really, really good and amazing people. Up to this day, I can go and sleep at those people’s homes. I met also, people who are so racist that they do not even want to see my face. Again, right? And to be honest, the good that I’ve experienced, it far outweighs the bad and the challenges.Yeah.
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah, that’s good to hear then, in that way.
Gabriel Allahdua
Absolutely.
Sheldomar Elliott
To talk a little bit more about this program, there’s been some recent news and developments in terms of the changes to the program from a federal level. But there has also been a recent UN report that’s been talking about the conditions of the workers’ program, the Seasonal Workers’ program. I know you’ve been doing activism with Justice for Migrant Workers for some time now. Can you maybe share a little bit about what that work has looked like, and maybe how has that informed, or how have these new developments changed, probably, the work moving forward.
Gabriel Allahdua
Yeah, thank you. That’s a fully loaded question.
Sheldomar Elliott
Take your time.
Gabriel Allahdua
Okay, one, the work of Justice for Migrant Workers, let me backtrack. In 2012, I arrived in January, and maybe in February or March, there was an accident where quite a few workers died. And that group, Justice for Migrant Workers, they organized a vigil in Kitchener, to basically honour the death of those workers, right? And that was the first time I met them, and what I realized, they are a voice for the voiceless.
And what is the work of us this year, at Justice for Migrant Workers? Three things. One, to connect with workers, to educate them, to empower them, to inspire them, also to connect with our allies and people who support the movement. Number two, to educate the public. What the politicians are happy to tell me, they feel confident that, “that’s not an issue in my riding.” So ignore, public ignorance. They play on that. So our job is to educate the public, and not to just tell our story, but to tell it in such a way to push them. To push the politicians. The politicians are going to listen to those votes, the votes that really matter. And it’s not until we have an energized public, people who are conscious that the politicians will listen. And the third thing that we do, we try to push the politicians at different levels, different ways, to change those unjust laws, unjust policies.
Because at the end of the day, what do we want? We are loud. We don’t have resources, but we are loud. We are creative. Why? Because we’re the food system. We’re in Canada. It is in the hands of people who are not treated well. People who are not treated well. These people, they are denied basic things. These people, they’re excluded from basic protection, and these people, they are tied to the employer. They are not treated well. Can that continue forever, or don’t we feel better? Isn’t that food security, to know that our food is being taken care of by people who are treated well? Is that food security? Isn’t that peace of mind? That’s why we are creative. And who is the group? Justice for Migrant Workers? We don’t have resources. We are all volunteers, right? And we are taking out the government, out of all the resources and even the employers that the farmers who lobby the government, they have all the money, all the power, all the influence, these are the people. So we try to be creative.
How does it look like? And from 1966, that program started. In 2019 for example, the government came up with a band-aid solution where vulnerable workers can apply for an open work permit. But if you know the details of that, you’ll see it’s a punishment for speaking up. However, the fact that they came up with that, that is admitting that there’s a problem. And they can, that means that our noise is reaching them. Number two, for the first time, that the federal government has allocated millions of dollars to educate workers about their rights, to educate migrant workers about their rights, to allocate money, millions of dollars to do that, that is admitting that there’s a problem. At least they hear that. And what rights do we have when you’re denied, tired and excluded? What rights? But anyway, at least that you allocate, that is a sign that you’re hearing the UN Rapporteurs Report, what it’s saying, the program, as it is there, it’s a breeding ground for modern day forms of slavery. And that cannot be further from the truth. If you read my book, maybe he copied that from me, or maybe he had similar stories to mine, because one year ago, I said that I’m a slave in Canada.
I am many things in Canada. I’m a slave. How do you call somebody who’s tied to one employer, denied basic human rights, excluded from basic protection. How do you call that, right? I’m really happy that the UN Rapporteurs Report brought the truth out. Why? Canada has a culture of silence. And another important thing that is not what is being said, but who says it. by the UN rapporteur, more people would heart it, right? So that is another important thing, and we know, we get into a year of election, so the government is trying to blame migrant workers. What is blaming migrants? Recently, there was a labour shortage and students were allowed to work 40 hours. Oh, they were saviours. Saviours. But now, the same students have been blamed for creating the housing problem. So the politicians conveniently, conveniently pit the public against migrant workers when it’s convenient. Right, at the height of COVID, with unemployment so high in Canada, they realize even then, Canadians still do not want to go to the farm to produce food. They suddenly open the borders.
Right now, there are no more migrant workers in Canada, we got a promotion. What is our promotion? Essential workers. “Essential worker,” the nice words of the politician, convenient. Essential. But we look at the policies, look at the practices of “essential.” Are we really treated as essential workers? No. So when we enter another year of election, the government will do anything to please the populace.
And you know, lately the right wing is on the rise in Europe, wherever, and the government don’t have a choice but to play into the hands of those people. So by cutting on those low wages they always want to make themselves look good in the face of the voters. And that is just an election ploy, just to buy votes. And in truth, and in fact, they’re running away from raising the conditions, addressing the issues, getting to the root of the issue, right? They do band-aid things just to get votes.
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah. Wow, that was a lot there, in the best way, you know. And it makes me think about a lot of the conversations and discourse I’ve been seeing around these developments. Yeah like, there’s this idea that it’s migrant workers and folks who are immigrating here to blame with all these issues. But it seems like politicians are using migrant workers to sort of scapegoat, like, as a scapegoat to sort of say, this is the issue, instead of a policy and a system sort of approach to understanding it. There’s so much there. And I want to jump into, I briefly want to bring up your book, because Andrea was able to share a really beautiful quote that I want to read out, and I think it speaks to a lot of what you were saying here:
“As a migrant farm worker, my level of education did not matter at work. There was no thought given to training foreign workers to understand the techniques being used or the science behind them. These are dead end jobs. There is no room for advancement. For us migrant workers, it was obvious that we’re only wanted in Canada for our hands, not our heads.
Is there anything else you want to add to that? Or, I feel like it’s sort of like, straight to the point.
Gabriel Allahdua
Yeah.
Sheldomar Elliott
Part of me wants to imagine that the changes to this program would be a better thing. But I guess, in your honest opinion, how does it change the program moving forward? Like, do you think this is a step in the right direction, as people would say, or abolishing the program completely? I know that there are people who rely on these sort of opportunities for employment.
Gabriel Allahdua
Yeah, regarding that quote, again, it goes back to Canada. Consistently, Canada has programs that dehumanize and exploit people. What is the point in life? Is it a life of fear or living a life of hope? And very clearly, our labour is used to subsidize the lifestyle of a few, and that is what the program is about, subsidizing the life of few.
I work with migrant workers, and you know two things, their work has been coming at 30, 40 years, and they’re still at the same level. Every day they go to work. It’s not a permanent job. They’ve been coming here for 30 years. It’s not a privilege. Every day they go to work, they must go above and beyond to please the employer. Yeah, because they are vulnerable. That’s one. Number two, you know what migrant workers Tell me, when you look outside the trees that you see outside your lawn, outside the pets, outside, they have more rights than a migrant worker. When you look at the hierarchy of things, they have more rights than a migrant worker. So when you look at a migrant worker, who is a migrant worker, are we first class, second class, or do we have no class at Canada? And what is Canada? A standard. People look up to Canada, but it’s because of our silence that this system continues. It’s been perpetuated because of our silence, and that is what I’m hoping that somebody will pick on. The more urbanized we become, the more we become disconnected from the land.
Sheldomar Elliott
Exactly.
Gabriel Allahdua
So a lot of people are not concerned whether the food is being grown by those who respect the soil, respect the environment, respect migrant workers. A lot of us become disconnected with okay, but increasingly, some people are, you know, questioning things, and this is the momentum, this is the kind of public support that I’m hoping will come out from this podcast.
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah.
Gabriel Allahdua
You also asked me a question and it kind of eluded me.
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah, no problem. I mean, yes, sort of your thoughts on, like the changes to that,
Gabriel Allahdua
…to that program, yes, yes, yes. Some people are talking about abolishing the program. Yes. COVID was the point in the program, I thought there would be no need for migrant workers. With unemployment so high in Canada, I thought Canadians go to the farm to produce their food. At that point, I thought that would be the end of the program. But even when unemployment is high in Canada, when Canada is in crisis, Canadians still do not want to that’s the point. Abolish it, for what? Who would do the work?
And what is the work? Let’s talk about the work, the jobs. It’s dirty, it’s difficult, it’s dangerous, it’s deadly. Every year, at least two workers are dying. These are non unionized work. Think of, for a minute all those unionized conditions, migrant workers compared to non unionized conditions.
What are some of the non unionized conditions? We do not work an eight to five job. We work from sunrise to sunset without overtime pay, without so many things, so many things, so many things denied, so many things, right? So, what is abolishing the program? Generally, it is said that Canada has a cheap food policy, cheap food generally, that’s what is said. If that is really, really true, have we ever seen a steady decline in the cost of food? That’s one. Who are the politicians calling to court to address the rising cost of food and the cost of living, the CEOs, right? And another important thing is, Canada has a supply management system. It’s supply management. If all the food that is produced in Canada was allowed to go to the market, the real cost of food would be well within everybody’s way, but it is said, generally it is said that about 75% of Canada’s produce goes overseas for export. So does Canada believe in a cheap food policy, or does Canada believe in exporting for income? You know, for profit?
Sheldomar Elliott
Exactly.
Gabriel Allahdua
Yeah. So, these are real issues there, and at the end of the day, it’s profit. In fact, I personally believe food, clothing, shelter, these are basic human rights, basic. But in Canada, food is not a basic human right. Food is a commodity, a commodity, meaning that profit comes before anything.
Sheldomar Elliott
Right. Yeah. Wow. You touched on so much there, and I know some of the work that we’ve done at FoodShare is around the right to food and recognizing that food is a human right. It shouldn’t be a privilege that some people can and can’t afford. Yeah, it just points to so many issues in the system and how Exploitation is just rampant on so many different levels. I think you talk a little bit about skilled versus unskilled labour. Do you maybe mind elaborating a little bit on that?
Gabriel Allahdua
Yeah, when you get to the border, they determine whether you’re a refugee, whether you are an asylum seeker, whether you’re a migrant worker and so on, right? They have their definition. What was classifying you as skilled or unskilled? Generally, migrant workers are considered to be unskilled. We are uneducated and unskilled. That is their definition, right. But put them to the work that we do. Do they have the skills to survive? Whose definition is it? Whose definition right? It’s whose stories do we hear? It’s who’s doing the talking, right? Put them in the seat. Will they last? It is very, very obvious to us that when Canadians come to do that work, they come in the morning, by break time, they disappear. So who has the skill? Is it because they have too much skill, or they don’t have the skill?
Sheldomar Elliott
Too much skill, haha.
It’s funny you mentioned that, because in a lot of these reports from this week, I guess the intention is that they’re going to be hiring people who live in those communities now, instead of hiring or bringing in folks internationally to do that work. But now that you’re talking about it like, are folks going to do that work? Are they skilled enough to do that work or not skilled enough? Yeah, there’s a lot of politics involved in that.
Gabriel Allahdua
Yeah of course, it’s a year of election, so politics comes into play. The program that brought me the seasonal agricultural workers, it started in 1966, and it is called Canada-First. Meaning, what does that mean? They have to advertise the position first. There’s something that’s called an LMIA, Labour Market Impact Assessment. They have to advertise the job first. The LMIA simply means, they’ve proven to the government, I cannot get a Canadian to do it. Then, you have the blessing of the government to bring in a foreign worker. The Canada-First program, it’s called. From 1966 they cannot get people to do those jobs, right? What does that tell you?
Sheldomar Elliott
Inherently a problem when you can’t even get folks who live in those areas. And then they talk about unemployment rates. So, yeah, it just feels like a mess to begin with. Exactly, just
Gabriel Allahdua
Exactly, from the beginning, is there failure to create conditions that will attract people and keep people? That is it. That is the root of it. Yeah, let us bring cheap labour, disposable labour, so profit becomes disposable.
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah, that’s what it is. You know, you’ve been so vocal in a lot of this work for a long time now, and you mentioned going all the way back to like, Justice for Migrant Workers, and I guess it makes me think about for you as someone who may have been in vulnerable positions, perhaps, is there a burden of feeling like you’re forced to be an activist and like, what is that experience of like being someone who’s on the front lines, like speaking about these things at a university? You were doing a program,
Gabriel Allahdua
Activist in Residence, yes.
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah, so maybe talk a little about that. And how do you navigate that, being like an activist, but also being from those experiences?
Gabriel Allahdua
Beautiful. If you look under the table, you see, I have free legs. What I keep telling people is I have free legs. My father, his descendants is from India. So his descendants came into the Caribbean as indentured workers, exploited labour. My mother is of African descent. Her descendants were brought in and exploited as slaves.
I am in Canada taking part in another form of exploited labour. So the mother, so the father, so who next, my children? On a personal level, I want to break that cycle of exploitation in my family. Yeah. Am I forced to be an activist? No, it is hitting me on the door every day. I stare it in the face.
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah.
Gabriel Allahdua
So, yeah, at the personal level. Another thing is, I came to Canada to earn my livelihood, and I came to Canada with the intention that that was the way out of poverty for me. So I would learn some techniques, earn enough money that I can do my own thing back home. That was my intention, only to find out that nothing was changing. I was going through a dependency, though, I’d be depending on Canada for the rest of my life, right? Yeah, not just dependent on Canada, dependent on a system that is just dehumanizing and exploiting. Where is freedom?
And you know, in any cycle, you have to look for a way out, right? And where is the way out in that cycle, dependency cycle? You know, is that alcoholism I cannot get out of? What is it? Is that cocaine or a drug I can’t get out of? And there’s a way out. And what is the way out? How can we address it if we don’t talk about it?
And talking about it is the thing. Because at the end of the day, what the politicians keep saying, “That’s not an issue in my riding.” So when you educate Canadians about the food system, if they believe in food security, if that is important, and food is a basic right, if they see it as a basic right, then they’ll push the politicians to make sure that the people that are producing, taking care of the food, are treated well. And isn’t that an amazing thing to do, to just educate people to take action about something that’s so important, so basic, right? I don’t feel forced about it. In fact, I feel energized every day to educate people about something that is so basic and so important.
Sheldomar Elliott
I appreciate the willingness to go out of your way to educate people, again, despite the system burning you and doing what it’s done to you. Maybe talk a bit more about your residency. What does that look like? And where is that taking place?
Gabriel Allahdua
Activists in Residence, that’s something new at the University of Guelph.
Sheldomar Elliott
Guelph.
Gabriel Allahdua
And what is Guelph? Guelph is not just a community. Guelph, to me, Guelph is the capital for agriculture. What do I mean by the capital? That’s where all the big players are located, the Ministry of Agriculture, the College of Agriculture, WSIB, all the big players, that is where they’re located. So the system that is exploiting and so on, that is the center of it all.
Sheldomar Elliott
Oh, I didn’t know that.
Gabriel Allahdua
Okay, yeah, that’s not something new. I didn’t have to go to the moon to invent it. It’s right there. But it’s by design, to keep it low, right? And to be the Activist in Residence in that place, how can we change it if we don’t talk about it? And that’s the point. That’s the point. And I need to tell you also, many, many years ago, there’s a professor, Kerry Prebisch, I’m not very good at pronouncing. To me, she’s the pioneer of migrant justice, and she was right there at that university. Sadly, that she passed, but again, her work got buried. Why? Because the system, the people who are benefiting, they would do any and everything to keep it, yeah, to perpetuate their lifestyle through the system, right? My job at the university was to challenge, to bring awareness and we cannot change it if we don’t talk about it, right?
Sheldomar Elliott
And how’s that been going so far?
Gabriel Allahdua
It was a one year assignment for me.
Sheldomar Elliott
Okay.
Gabriel Allahdua
Yes, but it’s still ongoing. I’ll tell you why. Every year with the new students, there’s an introduction to agriculture. So they keep calling me back to give a balanced view, right? Generally, the university is very conservative, and what is conservative mean? We’ve had our best day, so we need to do everything to maintain it. Sure, and what is progressive? Tomorrow can be better than today. So let us work towards that. Right? So the people are conservative, they will keep the system as it is, but, those people try to come up to a progressive agenda, they would call me in to raise the issues and create a better world, a fair world.
Sheldomar Elliott
Nice. It’s great that you’re able to be like in an academic institution, for example, being able to talk about this and bring awareness.
Gabriel Allahdua
Of course, that’s where the next leaders, the next generation, that’s where they are, right? And where is the best place to learn, is in school, right? And these are the changemakers. If you look at Montreal, for example, the major student, uprising, or whatever it was, it was the students who made this change right? Canada is a very fertile country, but one of the most fertile land the world is our brains, right? Our minds. And what I was playing in our minds, and what is the best time to play in our mind is in school.
Sheldomar Elliott
And I’m thinking about what you said earlier, about contrast, and your perspective on Canada, like, I find it funny that you’re doing this kind of work in Guelph, but also contrasting what Guelph means.
Gabriel Allahdua
Exactly. That’s what it is. There cannot be light if there’s no darkness. Right?
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah, I like that approach. So, because you were a migrant worker from 2012 to 2015 and you’re not doing this work anymore, and the denial and deflection that you mentioned earlier might cause people to tell themselves that things have improved, but people are going through this right now on farms across the country and in particular in this province. So could you do this activism work while still being a migrant worker? And could you speak up about this in a way without the safety of permanent residency?
Gabriel Allahdua
Being a migrant farm worker means that we are tied to our employer. It’s not a permanent job. Every day, you must go above and beyond to please the employer, right? The moment you speak up, you stand the risk of being sent back home. The employer controls the travel agency, CanAg, it’s called right there in Mississauga, the travel agency that’s booking our flight in and out of the country. The employer controls it. The employer, essentially, is CBSA. They can send you back home. So being a migrant worker, the pressure of being sent back home to a country of high unemployment and not being the support for your family, we are forced to be submissive and compliant. So we do any and everything to make sure at the end of the cycle, we can support our family. Supporting our family is ultimate, ultimate. Putting ourselves at risk is, we we play it down. And being quiet, be submissive, pleasing the employer, becomes equally important as at the end of the day, it ensures we are able to support our families.
So being an activist, you have to be extra creative. It’s only the few, the very, very few, who are bold, and they, regardless of what the outcome is, they feel confident that they can survive. There are very few. Or the few that I think I can say that they’re confident to speak up, are those people who had the situation not handled well. For example, they were involved in a work related accident and not treated well and so on. They had to fight with WSIB and so on. These are the people who speak up and take it on. But the majority, the majority, rather, one person goes through the fire, but bring rewards for everybody. Because at the end of the day, they want to protect, you know, the livelihoods for their family.
Sheldomar Elliott
Right. You can’t jeopardize that.
Gabriel Allahdua
No, You cannot jeopardize.
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah, so yeah, in the media or in the news, there might be a misunderstanding that some farms are better than others, and it really comes down, and as you said, like, you’re tied to your employers. And yes, some employers may be better, quote, unquote, than others. But from your perspective, what needs to change from an employer level to better align with, like, the dreams that you see, or a more equitable approach to this program if it is going to exist? And rather, yeah, not trying to say like you’re “all family” and everyone’s treated the same, because I’m sure that isn’t the case,
Gabriel Allahdua
For sure, a couple of things. One very common myth, “I treat my workers like family.” Okay, that’s a very common myth. There are lots of issues regarding that particular question. The few times that I attend, sitting in a session with farmers, “A few bad apples.”
Sheldomar Elliott
That’s always what they say, yeah.
Gabriel Allahdua
That is the chorus. “It’s a few bad apples.” But the truth is, that’s the best gift. That program is the best gift the government has given to employees, to tie to the worker, to the employer, deny them an experience. That is the best gift the government has given the employees. We are not saying Canadians are bad. We are not saying the farmers are bad. We are not saying the government is bad. We are saying the policies. And what are the policies, the policies that deny people basic human rights, the policies that exclude people, the policies that tie people, the policy that makes some lives better and some lives meaningless. Right? That is what needs changing.
The government is turning good people into bad people by tying the workers to the employer and denying them. The government has given the employer every right, a green card, a green light to exploit those people, right? So it’s not a few bad apples. The tree is rotten to the core. The tree is rotten to the core, and that is why we ask for status.
What is status? Not just living in Canada, status is that thing that takes care of our immigration and labour vulnerabilities. If I have status, I can speak up without fear of being sent back home because the employee controls the travel agency. If I have status, I have no fear. If I have status, I have an open work permit. My employer knows I can work with anybody who is willing to employ me. So the pressure would be on my employer to create a condition to attract me and keep me. So it’s the structures that are in place and not the individuals, no.
Sheldomar Elliott
No. I think that’s a common myth.
Gabriel Allahdua
A conveniently, convenient. Anybody can buy that. For example, another common one, “They live like kings in their country.” One Canadian is roughly 100 Jamaican dollars, right? And minimum wage is $16. So those guys are making money. That’s a common myth. But what is the cost of living? There’s very few people who are aware of the cost of living, right? Anybody would buy that. But the deeper question is, very few people would ask that, right?
Sheldomar Elliott
I’m glad you bring up that example specifically, because it helps demystify these ideas.
Gabriel Allahdua
That’s what it is.
Sheldomar Elliott
Because a lot of the time, if you’re having these sorts of surface level conversations, you can just leave it there, and say, “Oh, so that’s…”
Gabriel Allahdua
And just the exchange rate is enough. That’s all the evidence. The exchange rate is all the evidence. But the real truth is the cost of living.
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah. You briefly mentioned your family and your kids.
Gabriel Allahdua
Yeah.
Sheldomar Elliott
And breaking the cycle for your family.
Gabriel Allahdua
Yeah.
Sheldomar Elliott
Are you raising your family here in Canada, I’m assuming?
Gabriel Allahdua
The program that brought me to Canada, there’s no pathway to apply to live in Canada or permanent residence, right? But let me backtrack a little.
Sheldomar Elliott
Please.
Gabriel Allahdua
Status, permanent residence, whatever you call it to the average Canadian, status means the ability to stay in Canada, yes, of course, to the average Canadian. But to a migrant worker, what does it mean? It means being able to speak up with no fear of being deported. So it takes away my immigration vulnerability. If I have status, I have an open work permit. What is open work? I
can work with anybody, right? But if I’m tied to my employer, where’s the pressure, right?
So what does status mean? It takes care of our labour vulnerability, and it takes care of our immigration vulnerability, right? But in 2014, Harper was in power at that time, and he came in with a particular change to the program. So some immigration policy, there’s a particular program, workers who come on that program, they’ll come for two years. Harper said, those workers who come on that program, once they spend four years in Canada, they must go back home, spend four years before they can become eligible to come to Canada. So we call it the four in, for out.
That was in 2014. I was still learning about the system, right? Because I was surprised, because I was coming to a country where everything is alright, and to suddenly come across so many things, I was still learning.
So there was a lawyer on the radio, and she said, she was talking about it. I told myself, if she’s good enough to talk about it on the radio, she must be good enough to guide me. So I took action and set up an appointment. And after discussing my situation, she said, I’m not qualified for that, not eligible for that, not, not, not. The only thing is H and C, humanitarian, compassionate, and it’s a sad story that has happened to me in Canada. What is a sad story? You fall through the crack, and it’s just like a stroke of luck, right? That has me in Canada, right? And that is how I was able to apply to live here. I have two children. In 2005, their mom passed away, and now I’m in Canada, so far away from them. So it’s like having two children without a mom and without a dad. And that’s the sad thing about it. It’s that sad story that allowed me to stay in Canada.
Sheldomar Elliott
Wow.
Gabriel Allahdua
And during my four years on the program, plus the roughly three years of applying for PR and so on, those seven years, that is when my children slipped through my fingers. They transitioned from a child into adolescent, right, where they transition and they literally, they slipped through my fingers and up to now, that’s my challenge. They see that as like, maybe that’s the worst crime I’ve committed, you know, to be away from them during that critical moment, right?
Sheldomar Elliott
Right, right.
Gabriel Allahdua
So what is the program? Is it family reunification or family breakdown? And who benefits from family breakdown? For example, let me give you an example of family breakdown. During that period of time. Both of my children went to a secondary school or high school. My son did well at secondary school or high school, and he started college. First semester, he dropped out. Now is that helping or not helping the situation?
My daughter on the other hand, she completed secondary school, but her exams results, they were not that great. On average, people be writing 5, 6, 7, subjects. Maybe she wrote four or five, but she only passed one, succeeded in one. Who would employ somebody, or what kind of lifestyle is that? So you can see the program, rather than building, it’s already breaking down. Now, what happens, as a result of just my example, isn’t that a pool of disposable labour that Canada can tap into? Because who would employ my daughter, you understand? So by destabilizing the family, you have another pool of cheap people, disposable people, stable people, unstable family. Oh, easy to play into, right?
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah, man, that’s hard.
Gabriel Allahdua
It is. That’s what it is. You’re not seen as a human being. Dehumanized and exploited. That’s the thing.
Sheldomar Elliott
And you said the 5 Ds earlier.
Gabriel Allahdua
The public, they like to deny these things existing. “Oh, it’s not, that’s not true.” Downplay it, “It’s not as bad, It’s worse in the US.” Deflect the conversion, derail it, or even…I forget the other one.
Sheldomar Elliott
That’s okay. It’s four DS now. No, you know, I really appreciate your vulnerability and openness to talk about that, because that doesn’t sound like an easy experience by any means. And I’m assuming that your children are still back in St Lucia.
Gabriel Allahdua
No, currently, they’re with me now.
Sheldomar Elliott
Okay.
Gabriel Allahdua
Yeah, because, because of the crack. Yeah, I was granted permanent residence because of that exception, right? It’s a sad story.
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah, and that’s wild too, that it’s a story that’s the exception.
Gabriel Allahdua
Exactly.
Sheldomar Elliott
Again, as someone who’s like, been through all of this and has seen Canada from one side, and now in it, what are your aspirations for your kids, and like, your hopes and dreams for them? And perhaps, like, what did they see for themselves?
Gabriel Allahdua
Beautiful. Yeah, I want to start with “Life and Debt”..
Sheldomar Elliott
Please.
Gabriel Allahdua
It’s a documentary, and it was made in Jamaica, “Life and Debt”. And I would like to encourage the listeners to watch that documentary. It spells out , had I come to Canada, If I came to Canada freely, willingly, lovingly, I’d be a tourist. I’d be a visitor, maybe right now I would be in Niagara Falls. But because of Life and Debt, we are forced to become a migrant. We are forced to leave our country. We are not here because of a gun to our head, but there are lots of conditions that force us to leave our country. Life and Debt spells it out well.
And in a nutshell, I will tell you a lot of neoliberal policies where the North takes advantage of the South and forces us into situations that force us to become migrants. Canada plays a big role in that, in so many ways, if you look at our mining and so on, right, where they force Indigenous people to leave the land and so on. If you look at trade pacts like NAFTA forced Mexicans, basically, you know, the evidence is right there, right? It’s just a question of being aware of them, right?
I was forced to come to Canada, and who are the ones forcing me? The structures, they’ve created new liberal policies, right? Coming to Canada, thinking we’re coming into greener pastures, away a perfect country. So we are sandwiched. We are, I’m a sandwich, right between a rock and a hard place. Things are difficult, working and living conditions where you are denied, you’re excluded and you’re tired. Will you be a spectator and watch, or will you be a fighter and fight?
Sheldomar Elliott
Wow. How do you feel then that your children don’t have to go through that sort of cycle? Maybe it’s a different cycle, because we’re still in Canada. Are they here, would you say they’re here through freedom? Like, what is their perspective?
Gabriel Allahdua
Beautiful. Yeah. Maybe around 2014, Amanda Pfeffer on CBC, she had a program. You know, one of the lines I remember, “Canadians don’t complain about the working conditions until they change their job.” And it’s common knowledge in Canada that, based on your name, your postal code, that they know whether you’ll get the job or not.
Sheldomar Elliott
Exactly.
Gabriel Allahdua
Is that freedom? Is that freedom?
Sheldomar Elliott
No.
Gabriel Allahdua
But at least it’s a step towards that, right?
Sheldomar Elliott
Sure.
Gabriel Allahdua
Yeah. So to be sitting comfortable, saying that, my children have freedom?
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah.
Gabriel Allahdua
No. We’re still in a white man’s world, white man policies, right? And to change that, to shape a future Canada is very loud and proud, most multicultural, diverse, blah, blah, blah, but in truthfully, fact, are we treated equally and fairly? Canada is saying, look, look, the UN Rapporteurs Report quoted that Canada has signed on to end all forms of racial discrimination. Nice words.
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah, very nice words.
Gabriel Allahdua
In practice, it’s not so, right? So is that freedom? But it’s a fight, and it’s a continuous fight, the long road to freedom,
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah.
Gabriel Allahdua
That’s what it is.
Sheldomar Elliott
A very long road.
Gabriel Allahdua
But the beautiful thing, it is all man made, what we are fighting right? It’s man made. And when people become empowered and aware, you know, to take action, that’s what it is. And there are lots of victories that people around the world that emboldens us, that should inspire us, that should, you know, encourage us to take action, right? Yeah, that’s a beautiful thing, right?
Sheldomar Elliott
It makes me think, and I’m bringing it back to what you said earlier when I asked you the question about the restaurant, and you said that your upbringing like you didn’t, you don’t go out, you just cook at home. I’m curious what your relationship to food is now, knowing the sort of exploitation that takes place in the system and who’s growing food? How do you go about shopping or choosing where you eat? What is your relationship to food?
Gabriel Allahdua
That’s a nice question. But again, what is food? I personally believe that the food I’m eating, it can be the best source of my medicine, and the food that I eat can be the slowest form of my poison.
Sheldomar Elliott
Talk about it.
Gabriel Allahdua
So food is medicine. Food is medicine. If you don’t eat well, I personally believe that. That’s one. I also believe in culture, culturally appropriate food. You can give me the best meal, but if isn’t not aligned with my culture… and that’s why Toronto is so popular, I would say because you have all the diversity, all the culturally appropriate foods, all the cultures and so on, right?
So in choosing food, I want to think of nutrition, freshness, affordability, nutrition. I want to also think about my culture. I think a lot about the workers who day in, day out, on the difficult working and living conditions to produce this food. I’m forced to think about it. I experienced it. And also, every day, I envisage a life where my food, I have access to affordable food, clean food, nutritious food, and food that is grown in an ethical way. Every day I think it and I strive towards it. So in choosing food, I think a lot along those lines, right? And as I said, a lot of these things are available in Toronto with West Indian stores and so on and so on. But thinking of the people, the people around the food chain. That’s a dimension that I am forced to believe in because I am loud and vocal, because I have a food system that’s healthy, that is sustainable, and that is just, not just just to one set of people, but to everybody along the food chain, right?
Sheldomar Elliott
Of course, yeah. I appreciate you saying that. I know that for myself, like I got involved in food sovereignty initiatives back in like, 2018, 2019, because I thought it was so important to have a better understanding and relationship to food and land, the people that grow our food. And it’s now beautiful to see in Toronto, like more food sovereignty initiatives coming up, whether it’s a community garden or an urban rooftop or in your backyard, like just being able to grow your own food and understanding that process and also being aware of the exploitation that happens in the system, so trying to change it up that way, that’s part of it. Of course, we need better policies and all those other things too. But it makes me think a lot about food, but I’m such a food person, so like, I would love to hear like, what is your ideal meal? Like you said that you’d rather cook, or something like that. I want to hear what Gabriel likes to eat, basically.
Gabriel Allahdua
The irony is, I like to cook. That’s how I was born and raised.
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah.
Gabriel Allahdua
However, I’m not a great cook.
Sheldomar Elliott
Okay.
Gabriel Allahdua
I wish I could spend 10 minutes in the kitchen and out.
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah. You just want it over with.
Gabriel Allahdua
So my middle name, I tell them, my middle name is One Pot.
Sheldomar Elliott
Gabriel One-Pot, everybody!
Gabriel Allahdua
I put everything in one pot. For example, recently I had my sister visiting, and I would see 4, 5, 6, pots. So that is so new to me, right? For me, my ideal meal is the things that I love, yeah? Eating the things that you love, it changes your energy, it’s medicine, right?
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah.
Gabriel Allahdua
It should be nourishing, too. But just seeing the things that you like, the smell and all of that.
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah.
Gabriel Allahdua
I like squash in my food. Squash, it just changes a lot of things. Saltfish, which is not from our country, but it is like, I don’t know, it is in our culture, saltfish. Yeah, lots of greens. I don’t know, the plantain, the cassava, the yams and so on. The West Indian stuff.
Sheldomar Elliott
Of course. Yeah. Spicy or not spicy?
Gabriel Allahdua
Not for me, non spicy. Ironically, I’m the exception to the West India rule.
Sheldomar Elliott
That’s okay. We’ll allow it.
Thank you for sharing that. Gabriel, looking into the future, you know, and we talked a bit about the recent updates and the news and how they’re trying to change the program. But how have you seen people react to your story and work over the years? And what has that impact looked like? And what do you hope the impact will continue to be as you tell your story and you work with others to also share their stories?
Gabriel Allahdua
If you look at this book, for example, the first time I met my co-author, the first time in 2016 he told me he wanted to work with me. First time. That’s the first time I was meeting somebody, and I was new to Toronto. I said yes, and I didn’t know yes would turn into a book. So just hearing my story, that’s one, right? That’s why, Activist in Residence I was recommended to, I never attended an interview, I was recommended for that thing.
Looking into the future. I’ve never felt more hopeful. I’ve never ever felt more hopeful. Whereas COVID was bad with blah blah blah, so many people dying, blah blah blah, the good thing is more Canadians are aware. That’s a bright thing about it, more Canadians. So the soil is going to be fertile. Good timing. The UN Rapporteurs Report. Good timing. The book, more people are becoming aware. Good timing. I’m getting invited to speak and talk about the book, and so on, the ripple is expanding, and I’m hoping, I feel optimistic. And what, what is it? It’s something that’s winnable. It’s winnable. It’s a food system. You know, it’s food.
Sheldomar Elliott
It has to be.
Gabriel Allahdua
People cannot do without food, but it’s very limited resources and so on and so on. And we’re taking on a giant where they have the money, the power, the influence. It will take time, but again, at the end of the day, the beautiful thing is that helping people discover this power in their hands, as a consumer, as a voter, whatever skills, there is power in it, and to use it to create a better world. And I feel excited about the future, going to the future.
Sheldomar Elliott
I love your optimism, too, despite everything, yeah, and like, looking on the bright side of it.
I kind of want to wrap this conversation up with, like, a dream. And like, you can dream as big as you want, or as little as you want, but what are those dreams that you see for the future, and probably once we’re all gone, like, what is that dream that you may have in regards to this, or just the future of really, and even relating it back to Harvesting Freedom, the book.
Gabriel Allahdua
Yeah. One of the dreams I have, why did I write a book? To educate people. A lot of the people I want to educate are migrant workers, but a lot of them cannot read the book. So that is one of my dreams, to get to a level in such a way that the book can be shared with them to inspire them and so on. That’s one of my dreams.
One of my dreams is to get that book published in those sending countries in different languages. One of my dreams is to go to each island, each country, and hand the workers a check from the EI challenge. One of the dreams is that, the same way that Europeans, when they landed here, that they got the red carpet, that any migrant worker comes here, they know that they come into a place where all the boxes are ticked, right? It can be ticked for Europeans, it can be ticked for you, that’s my dream. And what is my dream? At the end of the day, what I want, I want from the politicians here, the same from coast to coast to coast, the whole country is covered. A Canadian is a Canadian. That’s complete. I want a Canadian to know that regardless which store they go to, that they know that the food is grown in an ethical way, the food is fresh, the food is affordable, the, you know, a food system that’s healthy, sustainable, and just. That is my dream. That’s what I want. Yeah.
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah. Well, I think all those dreams are attainable.
Gabriel Allahdua
Attainable, yes!
Sheldomar Elliott
We have to continue to dream, because we need more and better than this.
Gabriel Allahdua
And the beautiful thing is, the power is in our hands, and just mobilizing the support it is, it is doable. It’s achievable, right?
Sheldomar Elliott
And we’re stronger together. Keeping it real.
Gabriel Allahdua
For sure.
Sheldomar Elliott
Gabriel, thank you so much for spending time today and sharing your story. I think it was a very fruitful conversation. You’ve shared a lot. I’ve learned a lot also. So thank you for that. And yeah, just appreciate the conversation.
Gabriel Allahdua
Yeah. Thank you so much. As I said, generally, lots of people are not aware, and that is by design. So I’m hoping that this podcast would reach many, many, many people, and not just reach people, but raise the level of awareness. Right now, they say we are in the age of information, information age. But I want to tell the public, yes, we’re in the information age, but there’s also a lot of misinformation. Make sure you get your information from the horse’s mouth, right from the horse’s mouth. Always question, whose stories are we familiar with? Whose stories, is it the victor or the victim? That’s important. There is lots of information, but always question your source of information. Very, very few times you get it from the horse’s mouth, and this podcast is directly from the horse’s mouth.
I lived it. I slept in it. I worked in it. I lived it. I discovered that I’m many things in Canada, I discovered I’m a God, an angel, a slave, a half human and a lab rat. I lived it, experienced it. And the beautiful thing is, everybody deserves to be treated with dignity, with respect, and so on. But according to Canadian law, Canadian system, some people have more rights than others. Is that a fair world? Is that a just world? And the beautiful thing about Canada? Generally, it is said, Canada controls anything within 50 and 75% of the world’s supply of fresh water. This very, very minute, we have over 20 different communities that are on the boil water advisory, in a country that has so much, there’s enough everyone. There is enough. Not enough, there’s an abundance of things for everyone to live a decent life. But the question is based on the policies, the laws and so on, some people have access to more, and some people are denied so much. So what are you going to do? Discover the power in your hands and take action.
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah, yeah. And maybe, is there any way you can direct people to take action, who may be starting fresh or may not know where to start, of course, by reading the book, that might be a good sway.
Gabriel Allahdua
Yeah, there are lots of things, all right. The library, we are in the library, there should be lots of books and so on. The library. This podcast, continue to plug into the podcast. Follow FoodShare. FoodShare is, what is it? Just sharing food, or sharing vital information that will keep you nourished for the rest of your life? That’s one. There are lots of documentaries, like “Migrant Dreams,” contractor lots. There are lots. An abundance, right?
Sheldomar Elliott
“Life and Debt.”
Gabriel Allahdua
“Life and Debt.” Yeah, there are lots of powerful things. What’s a powerful thing? The important thing is, at the end of the day, you can learn all of those things. It boils down to you. What do you want? Do you want a Canadian food system that’s healthy, that is sustainable, and just? That’s one, number two, what skill do you have? Everybody has a skill. By now, you realize I have a big mouth or a long mouth, but what skill do you have? And discovering your skill, that’s the best gift you can give us. Discover your skill, and how you can use your skill to create a better world. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s boiled down to. What do you want? What skill you have and how do you want to use it?
Sheldomar Elliott
That’s it. Well, thank you, Gabriel, for sharing your wisdom. This has been wonderful. Thank you so much.
Gabriel Allahdua
Yeah, thank you for this great opportunity.
Sheldomar Elliott
Yeah, if folks want to follow and support your work, where can they find you or do that?
Gabriel Allahdua
To follow my work, I would encourage everybody to read the book, Harvesting Freedom: The Life Of A Migrant Worker in Canada. That is one way. The publisher, Between the Lines. That’s another way you can reach out to me. You can reach me through Justice for Migrant Workers. Our website is harvestingfreedom.org. Twitter, Facebook, lots of options. University of Guelph, also on that new assignment I just picked up with the rights of household and farm workers in Montreal, I am the Mobilization and Education Officer there. So lots of opportunities. Trust me, there are lots of people who work with and for Migrant Justice. The moment you follow them, FoodShare and so on, our pathes must cross.
Sheldomar Elliott
Okay, wonderful. Many ways to plug into Gabriel’s work.
Gabriel Allahdua
Many ways. Unlimited.
Sheldomar Elliott
Well, that’s it for this episode. Dignity and Joy is a podcast from FoodShare Toronto. We’re a food justice organization, advocating for the right to food and working to challenge the systemic barriers that keep people from accessing the food that they need to thrive.
You can learn more about our work@foodshare.net if you have feedback on the podcast, we’d love to hear from you. You can send us an email at info@foodshare.net, or on our social media. We’re @FoodShareto on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and on Instagram. Dignity and Joy is produced in collaboration with Lead Podcasting, with sound engineering and editing for today’s episode by our guest producer, Jasmine Rach. The production team at FoodShare is Renée D’Souza and Andrea Thompson. Special thanks to Amanda Cupido. Thank you so much for listening.