THREAD: 1/: I am heartbroken and angry to learn that two migrant workers died of COVID-19 in Ontario in the past week. I have been researching migrant worker health since I began my doctoral research on the topic in 2004. windsorite.ca/2020/06/hospit…
2/: Over this period I have witnessed time and time again as migrant workers' health has been considered an afterthought. Living and working in crowded and often hazardous conditions, migrant workers of colour are treated as disposable and replaceable by the Canadian state.
3/: Migrant worker advocates like @j4mw and @MWACCanada have been raising the rights issues of migrant workers for many years and throughout this pandemic, but who is listening?
4/: My academic (e.g. @JennaLHennebry @anelysemw ) and clinical colleagues have been sounding the alarm for months that migrant workers face unique and heightened vulnerabilities that would only be magnified during the pandemic. We have published various pieces, such as:
5/: Protecting the health and rights of migrant agricultural workers during the COVID-19 outbreak should be a priority. policynote.ca/migrant-worker… and...
6/: Migrant Farmworkers Face Heightened Vulnerabilities During COVID-19: foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/… and Coronavirus: Canada stigmatizes, jeopardizes essential migrant workers: theconversation.com/coronavirus-ca…
7/: We created a Migrant Worker Health Expert Working Group and web site to educate and inform: migrantworker.ca/about/. Our COVID-19 recommendations can be found here: migrantworker.ca/covid-19/
8/: None of this has been enough to prevent these unnecessary outbreaks & deaths. Migrant workers & advocates are shouting into an abyss, hoping someone will finally pay attention. We must not stand idly by. These deaths weren't inevitable. They were preventable and predictable.
9/: These workers left their families and flew to Canada during a pandemic to help grow our food so that we can continue to eat during this time. Every year they make a tremendous sacrifice to come, leaving emotional scars on them & their families: macleans.ca/news/canada/mi… .
10/: Despite many coming here year after year for decades (since 1966!) they are permanently viewed as temporary, never afforded the opportunity to immigrate. Their precarious status leaves them vulnerable and afraid to assert their rights or protect their health. This is wrong.
11/: The least we can do as a society is provide migrant workers safe and dignified conditions and status. I'll say it again: We must do better. Tell politicians you care about the migrant workers who grow your food. Learn the issues and demand their full rights and protections.
Another from April 21: Government COVID-19 guidelines gamble on the lives of migrant agricultural workers. sciencepolicy.ca/news/governmen…
