With their backs turned, a group of Mexican workers holds and supports each other during a meeting
A group of Mexican temporary foreign workers talks about the exploitation at the fish plant on the Acadian Peninsula.
The commercial fishing and processing industry is an integral contributor to New Brunswick’s economy that rural coastal towns heavily rely on, and behind it are the hands of temporary workers. These workers are hired under Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program, a system meant to fill labour shortages, but one that is used by some fishing plants as a business model to exploit them for unfair wages, putting them in terrible housing and labour conditions, with more limited rights and protections than citizens and permanent residents have.
These are the workers who do the grunt work, live in temporary housing, and take late shifts, in hopes of sending money to their loved ones. Their hard work and presence benefit this province in ways most people never notice, and yet they face isolation and blame.
Explore the other stories–Ranz Bontogon is a Filipino documentary photographer, born and raised in the backstreets of Manila, Philippines. He immigrated to the windy shores of New Brunswick as a teenager, a place he now calls home. Based in Moncton, his ongoing long-form projects explore immigration, labour, and identity, documenting how a sense of belonging is lived in the Maritimes.
