‘People are shook up’ by migrant’s Hwy 5 death
Worker had been at local nursery 11 years
“We’re all feeling the loss. It’s like losing a family member.”
John Mantel is a partner at AVK Nursery where the mood was sombre on Wednesday. He appears tired. With a heavy heart he says; “Tuesday was the hardest day, it was emotional.”
It was the first day back to work after the holiday weekend — a tragic weekend — that took the life of one of his employees. A second worker is in hospital, expected to make a full recovery.
On Sunday at about 11:30 a.m. 56year-old Andres Dominguez Moran, described as a “cheerful guy who was always smiling and happy” was with his co-worker, 53-year-old Jesus Sanchez Feliciano, a “quiet and nice man” cycling along Highway 5 just west of Sydenham Road, on their way to Walmart when they were hit from behind by a silver Toyota.
Moran was cycling behind Feliciano on the busy highway. He was hit first
and died at the scene. Feliciano was taken to hospital with “life-threatening injuries.”
“People are shook up,” Mantel said. “I made a personal connection with the guys … We spend a lot of time together, working in the field, getting coffee, driving to appointments.
“It’s been harder for the crew, shocking to them.”
“I went to see him yesterday … He was sitting up (briefly) in a chair. He was all bandaged up. He has a large gash on his head, multiple broken ribs, a fractured clavicle and vertebrae and broken toes,” Mantel said.
Moran has worked at AVK Nursery for 11 years, Feliciano, for five. Every year, for eight months, they leave their wives and children in Mexico to come to Canada to work.
“It’s an opportunity to make money so their children, the next generation, have the opportunities they didn’t have,” said Mantel.
They spend more time here than with their own families ... TERRY HUBBARD MIGRANTS MATTER
It’s partly what motivated Terry Hubbard to launch a GoFundMe campaign, raising money to support both families in Mexico and for those travelling to Canada.
“They are family to me, my friends,” she said. “They’re always so grateful for everything. It’s my way of helping and giving back.
“They spend more time here than with their own families; missing birthdays, weddings, pivotal moments in their children’s lives because they want to provide a better education for their children.”
Hubbard, co-ordinator of Migrants Matter in Flamborough, works with five churches which all provide support to workers while they are in Canada. Workers west of Highway 6, including Moran and Feliciano, attend Spanish services on Sundays through Ministerios De Vida.
“In a crisis like this, both groups come together to do all they can for the workers … The workers themselves are pooling their money to help as well.”
Advocacy groups such as Justice For Migrant Workers Ontario (J4MW) is appealing to both the provincial and federal governments to “shoulder responsibility and provide the needed health care for this gentleman.”
“Every effort must be undertaken to ensure that the injured migrant worker is not medically repatriated home,” said Chris Ramsaroop, a spokesperson for J4MW.
Expressing concern for migrant workers who typically travel by bicycle on many rural roads, J4MW is also asking municipalities and the province to “prioritize” the development of a series of options to create safer roads in rural communities. “Whether it’s speeding cars, poorly lit roads or the absence of
paved roadways for cyclists, migrant workers risk life and death every day when they use our roadways,” he said.
Mantel said he will be welcoming family members of both men in the coming days. Moran’s wife and son will take his body back to Mexico and Feliciano’s daughter will spend time with her father while he recuperates in Canada.