News media can provide a quick overview of your topic and point you toward relevant reports, government departments, individuals such as academics, or other advocacy & interest groups. See news databases through A-Z List of Databases.
Academic searches through academic databases or Google Scholar can provide valuable summaries/background, context, studies, statistics, and links to further research.
Try the following search in Novanet, which will find academic (and some non-academic) sources:
Statista -- database of statistics, graphs, and reports on a variety of issues by country. Worth a look when beginning any research on a topic that is likely to involve stats & data.
Some government resources will also serve as background, while others will help advance your investigation.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)
Employment and Social Development Canada Temporary Foreign Worker Program (info about Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program and agriculture stream of Temporary Foreign Worker program)
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
--What we heard: Consultations on accommodations for Temporary Foreign Workers
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
Legislative summaries and backgrounders by the Library of Parliament (See Library of Parliament research publications -- HillNotes quick reads; HillStudies background papers; Legislative summaries; Trade & Investment profiles).
---e.g., see Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada background paper, 2020
Provincial legislation such as Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act
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Office of the Auditor General of Canada (See Publications > Reports to Parliament. Search by federal institution [e.g., department] or topic.)
Parliament of Canada -- see Hansards (records of debates of House of Commons and Senate), Committees where relevant, and Library of Parliament research publications
Statistics Canada -- see data tab; search by keyword or subject
Trade Data Online -- see where Canada exports its crops and how much money those exports are worth. Try search by Industry to get all food crops or zero in on specific farm industries
World Trade Organization Trade Profiles 2022 - quick statistics on total agricultural imports and exports by country
Business Source Complete database -- See Company Profiles along top menu for Marketline Reports of large companies. Contains information for public and private companies.
Nexis Uni Company Dossiers (large companies) and company reports (includes smaller companies) contain profiles of public and private companies.
SEDAR -- The System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) is a database of financial documents from publicly traded companies. Company annual reports contain not only financial details, but insights into business conditions and the operating environment of the company. Some parts to look at: "Letter to Shareholders" (introduction by CEO) can include a summary of conditions or issues faced by the company, and “Management Discussion and Analysis” can include hints of the company’s strategy for dealing with these and other operational issues. Annual reports are also available on company websites, but SEDAR has them all, and you can zero in on the most useful sections.
Statista -- See Company DB in top menu. Has profiles of public and private companies.
CAN-LII: Search for legislation and federal or provincial court cases through all levels of courts. CanLii also carries records from provincial Boards and Tribunals such as labour boards, labour arbitration awards, and workers compensation appeals tribunals.
Alberta Labour Relations Board
Ontario Labour Relations Board
Ontario Workplace Health & Safety process (Through Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. Legislative oversight: Ontario Occupational Health & Safety Act)
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC): Employers who are non-compliant under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Agriculture Workers Alliance, United Food & Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Canada -- information on migrant workers' labour rights
--Agriculture Workers Alliance Facebook page (latest news & campaigns)
--The Status of Migrant Agricultural Workers in Canada 2022, Special Covid-19 Report
Canadian Federation of Agriculture -- contains links to key facts and reports about Foreign Worker Programs
Justicia for Migrant Workers -- Advocacy group made up of migrant workers, academics, labour organizers, and citizens
Migrant Worker Health Project -- Canadian research group dedicated to the health and safety of migrant agricultural workers
Using Google Scholar? Make sure your library links are set to link you through to full-text content from subscription databases. If your library links are not set, you will hit paywalls for content you actually have access to through the library's subscriptions. Note: re-set your library links every time you clear your cache. Here are the steps to set your library links:
Looking for grey literature on a hard-to-research topic? Try Google Advanced searches.
Some helpful advanced search tools:
Site searches: e.g., site:canada.ca, site:gc.ca
File type searches: e.g., limit to PDF (see example below)
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