Outbreaks on farms are holding back the entire region: Windsor mayor

By Shawn Jeffords, The Canadian Press

Public health officials have failed to ensure all migrant workers are tested for COVID-19, the mayor of Windsor, Ont., said Tuesday, calling on farmers to step in so the region can soon join the rest of the province in Stage 2 of reopening.

Drew Dilkens said the high number of COVID-19 cases on farms in Essex County was holding back the entire region and the local economy could not face another week of delay.

“While the local health unit has thus far refused to test the full temporary foreign worker population, this next week presents an opportunity for our local agricultural community to step in where public health officials have failed,” he said in a statement.

Windsor-Essex is the only area of the province which remains in the first stage of reopening in the province as it continues to grapple with COVID-19 outbreaks on area farms.

Hundreds of migrant workers in the region have tested positive for the virus and three have died.

The CEO of the Windsor-Essex Health Unit defended the work the agency has done on a number fronts, including testing of migrant workers since March.

“It is hard to hear the comments about our health unit,” Theresa Marentette said. “Even harder for our staff, who have worked so hard these past months for the health and well-being of our entire community.”

On Monday, Premier Doug Ford warned that if farmers in the Windsor-Essex region did not co-operate with the province’s plan to test all migrant workers he would take “extreme” action, though he gave no specifics.

Ontario’s labour minister said the province would increase inspections of farms this week, including the migrant workers’ living conditions, in partnership with the federal government and local health units.

A day later, Ford was more conciliatory, saying he had spoken with local politicians, farmers and his own officials about a new plan to help the region.

“I believe everyone is coming together, that we’ll have an agreement that we can move forward,” he said.

Watch: Premier Ford says plan around testing of migrant workers to be revealed


NDP legislator Lisa Gretzky, who represents a riding in Windsor, said people in the region are angry about how the pandemic has been handled and want to know what metrics the province used to keep it in Stage 1.

“The premier spent this week blaming farmers, blaming Ottawa, blaming everyone but himself,” she said. “It’s time he took a long, hard look in the mirror, because other provinces have avoided the outbreaks we’re seeing.”

Meanwhile, a report from Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office said Windsor is the city most affected by the pandemic in the province, with employment declining by over 19 per cent between February and May.

Approximately 20,000 migrant workers come to Ontario each year to work on farms and in greenhouses – many of them from Mexico, Guatemala and the Caribbean. This year, they were required to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival.

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