B.C. Liberals Fail to Act on Recommendations to Safeguard Farm Workers
BURNABY – The B.C. Liberals’ failure to act on numerous recommendations from a coroner’s jury that examined the tragic deaths of three B.C. farm workers is unacceptable, says New Democrat labour critic Raj Chouhan. 
Raj Chouhan
“The families of the victims, along with farm workers right across the province, deserve a real commitment from the government to follow through on all the recommendations to ensure this type of tragedy never happens again,” said Chouhan, the founder of the Canadian Farmworkers’ Union.
In December 2009, a coroner’s jury made 18 recommendations into a 2007 crash which killed three farm workers, 16 of which were directed towards the provincial government. These recommendations were meant to ensure additional protection for vulnerable workers, and included a call for more random inspections, new laws governing mandatory seatbelts and heavier penalties for offenders.
Chouhan noted that, for instance, the B.C. Liberals have failed to act on recommendation 17, which called for business operators to recognize seasonal workers as employees.
“We need to ensure that all workers are safe. It’s essential that farm workers be given the same rights as other employees in British Columbia,” said Chouhan.
“The families of the farm workers who were killed in March 2007 are patiently waiting for justice. Why is the government not acting now to avert similar tragedies from occurring in the future?”
Chouhan noted that the B.C. Liberals have a record of breaking their promises to protect farm workers. In 2002, they broke their word and gutted employment standards for farm workers, stripping them of many rights and protections.
Carole James and the New Democrats will continue calling on the B.C. Liberal government to act immediately on the recommendations made by the coroner’s jury to ensure protections for all B.C. workers.
