Kit Andres and the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change had a simple message for Niagara residents Wednesday: look out for migrant farmworkers.
“Look out for migrant workers. Look out for them on the roads. Listen to them when they tell us what needs to change,” Andres said.
Wednesday morning, volunteers with the alliance, farmers and community members gathered on Concession 6 Road, where migrant farmworker Sinhue Garcia was killed while biking home in June.
Giant reflective signs reading “Look Out For Migrant Workers” were installed at the meeting point and four other locations where seven migrant farmworkers have been killed or seriously injured. Additional signs will be installed outside municipal offices in Niagara-on-the-Lake, St. Catharines and Lincoln.
Standing beside a busy road to discuss action and next steps, Andres encouraged attendees to reflect on what it feels like to travel along the roadside.
“This is how our migrant farmworker neighbours feel every single day when they’re travelling these roads: vulnerable, scared, at risk, unsafe, unprotected,” they said.
Andres emphasized that migrant workers’ rights, including access to housing and road safety, cannot be separated.
“When you don’t have washers and dryers in your home, you’re going to have to go to the laundromat. And what happens if you don’t have a car? You’re going to ride your bike.”
Ceto Reid, a seasonal worker from Jamaica, was struck while biking to do laundry in 2022.
Andres quoted Reid on Wednesday, emphasizing the responsibility of Niagara residents and politicians.
“People need to respect farmworkers more and what we’re doing for the community. We are the ones feeding the people, so look out for us. We have to use the roads. We have to live here. We have to work here. Look out for us. We are here,” Reid said.
Syed Hussan, co-executive director of the alliance, called on Niagara Region and local municipalities to implement road safety measures in consultation with migrant workers.
“We have been calling on the Niagara Region to actually do an audit with farmworkers so that they can point out which roads are the most unsafe. At the same time, the Niagara Region is responsible for housing standards,” he said.
The alliance is also calling on the Ontario government to hold a coroner’s inquest into migrant worker deaths in the region and make recommendations to prevent further deaths, Hussan said.
“The near misses and the injuries are far more than the seven names that we have today.”
All levels of government must take action, Hussan said, adding that the issue extends beyond bicycle safety.
Migrant workers have been coming to Niagara for 60 years, and there have been 60 years of oversight and non-inclusion, he said.
“The United Nations has called Canada’s temporary worker program a breeding ground for modern forms of slavery,” Hussan said.
“We really need to focus on the decision-makers and policies at all levels of government.”
Hussan said the alliance and community members have a responsibility to provide basic material support, but that alone will not prevent injuries and deaths.
“We have been raising the same call. Zenaida died around the corner in 2019 and I was standing right there. Now it’s been seven more years and seven more people.”
Zenaida, a 33-year-old Mexican farmworker and mother of two, was killed in a hit-and-run while walking in 2019.
Andres said community members have personal responsibilities, but the conversation should not shift to blaming migrant workers.
“You can do everything in your power to protect yourself, and it’s not enough. So obviously, we support everyone taking personal responsibility for safety, but we also want to make sure that the blame is not on the people who are being injured, who are being killed,” they said.
“We want to shift that responsibility where it belongs, and that’s on the decision-maker.”
So far, 36 of the 63 municipal candidates across Niagara-on-the-Lake, St. Catharines and Lincoln have signed the Migrant Worker Safety Pledge, Andres said.
“These actions must happen no matter who signs the pledge and no matter who wins the election.”
Standing outside NOTL’s town council office, Andres encouraged NOTL residents to contact election candidates about migrant worker safety and find out who has signed the pledge.
As migrant workers leave the region for the season, Hussan said, the question is what will have changed by the time they return in the spring.
“We just want to be very clear that we’re not going away. We are done, and we are tired of our family members, our friends, and our community members killed.”
