“No more preventable deaths”

Research study points to insufficient action by health care system and province, contributing to deaths of migrant agricultural workers (Feb 1, 2022).

Nine migrant agricultural workers died in Ontario between 2020 and 2021, with additional deaths reported in other regions of Canada. Many of these workers died during quarantine. A new study suggests that various points of intervention are necessary to prevent future deaths from occurring. These recommendations come after several migrant agricultural workers have already died in Ontario in the first month of 2022.
The study involved a review of the coroner files for the nine workers who died in Ontario between January 2020 and June 2021, and sought to identify medical and social factors that contributed to and/or may explain the context of these deaths.
With the support of Migrant Worker Health Expert Working Group (MWH-EWG) members and physician experts, the overarching aim of the study was to develop evidence-informed practices and policy recommendations to prevent the deaths of more migrant agricultural workers. Key findings point to inconsistent quarantine conditions, ad hoc standards for regular check-ins and several barriers for timely emergency medical care. Dr. C. Susana Caxaj, Assistant Professor at Western University and a registered nurse, is the principal investigator of the study. She notes:
“Looking at these files was a dreadful reminder that the province and the healthcare system continue to disregard the challenges faced by this group. Consider for example, a public health unit tasking an employer to monitor symptoms of a worker during quarantine. Or, an individual having doubts about emergency medical care because they are uncertain about the costs associated with treatments. We have normalized substandard care and protections of these men and women.”
Several workers’ symptoms worsened very quickly, and in some cases, they died days after test results confirmed that they were COVID-positive. “These workers would have benefited from more intensive health monitoring after testing positive for COVID-19 so that their deterioration could be identified and intervened upon,” noted Maxwell Tran, Public Health and Preventive Medicine Resident Physician at the University of Toronto and co-investigator.
Dr. Caxaj adds: “More proactive testing, with stronger lines of communication between healthcare professionals and support organizations who have built trust with this group could have made a difference. Investing in practices that minimize this vulnerable group’s risk of exposure, orienting them, and helping them navigate the healthcare system could have made a difference. Addressing the root causes that make this group vulnerable to health and safety risks in the first place, through better enforcement of their working and living conditions could have
made a difference. What we are asking of the province is that they take action to commit to no more preventable deaths.”
The study also indicates that families may not have been provided the information needed to claim compensatory entitlements. “Compounding the tragedy of their loss, it is unclear whether the families of workers whose deaths are within the purview of the provincial workers’ compensation board (WSIB) had access to information and a clear path for pursuing all eligible compensation,” noted Stephanie Mayell, PhD Candidate in the Medical Anthropology Program at the University of Toronto and co-investigator of the study.
In 2021, several members of the MWH-EWG participated in the Deputy Chief Coroner’s Review of COVID-related deaths of temporary foreign agricultural workers in 2020. While the MWH-EWG was not fully satisfied with the recommendations made by the Deputy Chief Coroner, there was an agreement on a number of points, particularly the report’s recommendation for an inquest into the deaths of Bonifacio Eugenio Romero, Rogelio Munoz Santos, and Juan Lopez Chaparro, the first three workers who died.
As Dr. Janet McLaughlin, Professor of Community Health at Wilfrid Laurier University, a study co-investigator and MWH-EWG member noted: “Many migrant agricultural workers have died over the years, even prior to the COVID pandemic, yet an inquest into their deaths has never been held. We owe it to the men and women who grow our food to ensure no stone is left unturned in understanding the contributing factors to their untimely deaths, and to do everything possible to prevent future tragedies.”

Media Contacts
Dr. C. Susana Caxaj
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences
Western University 416-839-8467 scaxaj@uwo.ca

Stephanie Mayell
PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology
University of Toronto
905-242-5191
stephanie.mayell@mail.utoronto.ca

Maxwell Tran
Public Health and Preventive Medicine Resident Physician
University of Toronto
416-895-1138
maxwell.tran@mail.utoronto.ca

Dr. Janet McLaughlin
Associate Professor, Department of Community Health
Wilfrid Laurier University
jmclaughlin@wlu.ca