“It’s critical for us to have the foreign workers. We can’t operate without [them].” He is grateful that B.C. stepped in this year to pay for isolation in hotels for workers, required in order to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Local farmers credit the provincial move with saving their season. Early on, it was suggested that farmers would isolate the foreign workers themselves, but that would not have been feasible, Ponchet said. Typically, about 10,000 foreign workers come to B.C. every year, although fewer arrived this year. The province has said it will cover the self-isolation costs for 11,000 foreign workers coming to this province next year to work on farms. Details of its plans are outlined in a published request for proposals.