Ontario farm with migrant worker who died of COVID-19 hit with 20 charges
CBC
An Ontario farm where an outbreak of COVID-19 affected more than 200 workers, including a man from Mexico who later died, now faces 20 charges following an inspection by the provincial Labour Ministry.
Charges filed with the Ontario Court of Justice under the Occupational Health and Safety Act say Scotlynn Sweetpac Growers Inc. and its owner, Scott Biddle, failed to take "every precaution reasonable" to protect workers from COVID-19 infection on the vegetable farm in Vittoria, located about 75 kilometres south of Hamilton.
Scores of workers tested positive for COVID-19 in an outbreak in the spring of 2020. Juan Lopez Chaparro, a 55-year-old from Mexico, died in June that year after working at the farm.
The charges, which have not been proven in court, say the farm and its owner failed to protect workers in the following ways:
CBC News called Scotlynn group for comment on Monday after 5 p.m. ET and was told by an employee who answered the phone to call back on Tuesday.
Chaparro — like thousands of workers who come to Ontario each growing season — was in Canada as part of the federal Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, which allows farmers to hire temporary foreign workers.
One worker at Scotlynn Sweetpac, Luis Gabriel Flores, was fired after speaking out about conditions at the farm. He was Chaparro's bunkmate.
This story is a collaboration between the Investigative Journalism Foundation and CBC Saskatchewan.
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