‘End the Plantation System’: Justice for Migrant Workers at London’s Caribbean Cultural Festival

The following is the speech delivered by Chris Ramsaroop from Justice for Migrant Workers to attendees of Island Fest, a celebration of Caribbean culture in London, on July 26. He has been organizing with Justice for Migrant Workers for the past 25 years. 

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak regarding issues pertaining to the people who are the foundation of our food system, migrant farm workers. To begin, I would be remiss not to begin with a quote from the seminal work of Justice Irving Andre, who over 35 years ago wrote one of the first critical inquiries into the farm worker program.

Entitled “The Genesis and Persistence of the Commonwealth Caribbean Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program in Canada,”  Irving raised multiple alarms regarding the structure, role, and continuation of the seasonal agricultural workers program. With respect to the unemployment in the Caribbean and the conditions of the farm program, he says:

“This creates a reservoir of unemployed or underemployed labour which forces the labourer to accept any form of employment, even under the most onerous conditions. Since these reservoirs of labour represent a potential source of labour unrest, the West-Indian governments are amenable to supporting schemes entailing the export of labour. Migration of labour represents a politically expedient means of avoiding structural reform of the Caribbean economies and the individual governments are inclined to look askance at all but the most egregious abuses of the Caribbean Agricultural Workers Program in Canada.”

Sadly neither the countries of the Caribbean nor Canada heeded his urges for immediate changes.

I often wonder if changes had been made, how many lives would have been saved? Workers such as Garvin Yapp, Ned Peart, Sheldon McKenzie, amongst so many others, would be with their families spoiling grandchildren. Those who should have lived a full life into retirement would have retired comfortably with a decent pension. I think about Omar Graham, who died here in Canada only a few weeks after his baby was born, a child now entering his teenage years without his father. Or Venom, who was killed by a drunk driver while working late at night. His daughter will never have the opportunity of hugging or telling her father how much she loves him. Or Russel, an apple worker who died also at work, whose workplace death isn’t even a footnote in the history of Ontario’s prosperous agricultural industry.

Those workers, injured and sick as a result of working conditions, deserved access to a social safety net and healthcare to ensure they heal physically, spiritually, and emotionally. This however is not the case. Workers who are injured or sick lose access to healthcare once their permits end, despite suffering injuries and sickness here in Canada.

Last week I received a call from a friend named Danny, one of these injured workers. Danny will never work again, his injuries and pain continue, while his appeals burrow along unnecessarily through the WSIB appeals process.

Last month, I said goodbye to my friend Mr. Justice, a migrant worker who was left to die on the side of the road. His injuries also mean he will never work again. His health has deteriorated, and because of no access to healthcare he has made the difficult choice to return home.

Kevon, an apple picker from Trinidad, was terminated and escorted off the property by the OPP after sustaining a workplace injury. The employer expected him to go home, but he stayed to fight his case. Eventually, the WSIB ruled that he suffered a workplace injury, but staying here without a social safety net and full healthcare forced him to return home. Since then, his health has deteriorated.

Last week, I also became acquainted with Mr. Coker, a Trinidadian worker employed for over 45 years. Spending more time in Canada than with his family. Mr. Coker was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Thankfully, he is in remission. However, after losing his healthcare, which is tied to his work permit, he has a substantial healthcare bill. 

Let me ask all of you, is that fair? Someone who fed us, nurtured us, and provided for us, we have turned our backs on Mr. Coker and all of the individuals mentioned above.

Denville and Kenroy and their leading-edge legal case challenging the exclusion of migrant farm workers to access health care and the discriminatory practice of linking healthcare to work permits. I won’t ever forget the response of the province of Ontario that if we created exceptions, expanded healthcare for this group of people, we would be opening up the floodgates to others. This of course, is shameful and abhorrent and speaks to the power imbalance that exists for this group of workers, who as a result of tied work permits, are denied labour and social mobility that you and I enjoy.

A few years back, the Canadian Medical Association Journal published data we obtained from a case at the HRTO. The article describes the types of injuries workers are being sent home as follows:

“From 2001 to 2011, 787 migrant farm workers were repatriated to their country of origin for medical reasons. The predominant medical reasons for these repatriations include trauma, musculoskeletal, and digestive or gastroenterologic conditions. Neurologic, psychiatric, cancerous, and cardiovascular conditions also figured prominently in this study.”

Dangerous conditions, you may say, are simply what is expected in agriculture. Take this blistering and sweltering heat. Imagine working at backbreaking speeds in the fields and greenhouses. We don’t have heat laws on the books, meaning employers are not obligated to provide water, additional rest periods, or shade for workers toiling at these extreme temperatures. Ontario refuses to provide these protections, and one must ask, ‘Why?’

To date, Ontario has never held a coroner inquest into the death of a migrant farm worker since the inception of the act in 1978. One must ask, ‘Why?’

In the last year and a bit, the province has dropped the prosecution of workplace deaths of two migrant farm workers, one from Vietnam and the other from Jamaica. This means workers can be maimed or killed at work with no accountability from any level of government.

Women workers on farms have reached out to our group sharing their experiences of workplace injuries as a result of repetitive injuries. Others have experienced workplace and sexual violence and have not been provided with adequate living facilities, clean bathrooms, or appropriate health-related supports.

At this point, I am sure I am making all of you uncomfortable — probably squirming — those who think these stories should not be platformed retort, “Why don’t you share the good stories of the program? Why don’t you talk about the farm workers who put their kids through school, built houses, and created a life for themselves?” The government would have you define the success of the program by thinking of these deaths and injuries as aberrations – some workers will inevitably fall through the cracks. We however describe these not as cracks, but by design. 

It is imperative that the voices of those workers and their families who can no longer work or take care of their families not be erased, silenced, or forgotten. I have met too many of these workers who, by design of the structure of our farm worker program, continue to live in poverty while the industry coffers expand into a multi-billion dollar industry. Most migrant workers are employed on operations that earn more than $2 million per year. Let’s think about that, the concentration of power and the growing income inequality is felt by those who are precarious as a result of race, immigration, and are doing dirty, dangerous, and deadly work.

I am also here to talk about what hope looks like. It would be easy to turn our backs and give up, because the situation is so dire, but what drives my friends and myself are the continued resistance of workers who in spite of all stand up for their rights. 

Workers at Komienski farms who stood up organized and fought back against sewage in their kitchen and housing. Many suffered the sacrifice of standing up for their rights and have lost their jobs. Workers at AMCO Produce, who undertook a sick-out to demand respect and fairness from their Employer. Workers at Lakeside Produce, who organized a wildcat strike against the use of dangerous chemicals. The 150 workers and allies who marched 12 hours from Leamington to Windsor to demand an end to exploitation. The dozens of workers who undertook two caravans across Ontario in 2011 and 2016 to demand change and build solidarity with communities, and call for an end to apartheid in our own fields.

To the Jamaican workers who fought and won against the racism inherent in the workers’ compensation system, which will result in compensation totaling in the millions for dozens of workers from the Caribbean. To Adrian Monrose, who fought a significant racism case against Double Diamond Farms. To Kenny Flaurent, who won an important OLRB case also against Double Diamond Farms. To the workers who fought racial profiling and the illegal DNA sweep just down the road in Tillsonburg. To the workers fighting a $500 million dollar lawsuit against the discrimination inherent in Canada’s employment insurance scheme.

I want to end by urging you: don’t believe the hype, don’t fall for the lies. We are not destined to repeat history. Change will come only if we heed the warnings of our ancestors. 

End the plantation system. No one should face injury, death or theft so that others grow rich and powerful off of the blood sweat and tears of our kin. I urge you to join the struggle and to demand justice for those who toil in our fields, our greenhouse and our packing houses. Thank you for your time.