Photo credit: CBC
The provincial government of Ontario committed to enacting new laws to protect migrant farm workers last July but is yet to follow it through.
To this end, the advocacy group Justice for Migrant Workers (J4MW) has sent the province an open letter. In the letter, the group calls for agriculture-specific requirements for good drinking water and shade. It also calls for broader protections for workers, such as security against reprisal if they file a complaint.
Chris Ramsaroop, the group’s organizer, said he is concerned someone will get injured before regulations are put in place.
“We should not be waiting for another tragedy to occur where a worker is sick or dies because of heat conditions,” he said.
Ontario has set broad protections for all workers, including guidelines suggesting employees’ core temperature should not exceed 38 C. However, the province has no specific regulations for agricultural workers.
