Stage 3 move delayed for Toronto and Peel
Premier also threatens to force COVID testing on migrant farm workers
Premier Doug Ford wants to force COVID-19 tests on migrant farm workers in Windsor-Essex to curb stubborn outbreaks as the province takes extra time to decide if the region — along with Toronto and Peel — can join the rest of Ontario in opening more businesses.
Word on when the areas can enter Stage 3, which includes allowing bars and restaurants to serve patrons indoors as well as the reopening of gyms, movie theatres, casinos and playgrounds, was expected Monday but will now be delayed until Wednesday.
“We can’t rush this,” Ford said Friday in Markham. “I hope that we’ll have good news to share.”
Health officials have asked for “a little more time” to crunch the numbers on new cases, Ford told a news conference where he expressed more frustration at the COVID-19 situation in the southwest of the province.
“There’s still a lot of people not getting tested,” Ford said, who urged farm and greenhouse owners to get their workers tested and for the workers themselves to step forward for testing.
“I would like to look into mandatory testing … we can’t keep playing this cat-and-mouse game,” added the premier, who said he is seeking an opinion from constitutional lawyers and the federal government on forcing migrant farm workers to be swabbed for COVID-19.
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit reported another 53 new cases Friday, including 43 among agricultural workers and one in a young child at a daycare centre in the agricultural town of Leamington on Lake Erie’s north shore.
A leading civil rights lawyer said Ford will quickly learn Canadian law does not permit forced medical procedures — in this case a deep nasal swab for the virus.
“It sounds like the premier wants a shortcut,” said Michael Bryant, executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and a former Ontario attorney general under the Liberals.
Because migrant workers are visible minorities, mandatory testing could be seen as discrimination, Bryant added.
“It’s not because they’re migrants that they pose a risk. It’s because governments are allowing dangerous working and living conditions,” he said, referring to close quarters in bunkhouses and on the job, where the virus spreads easily.
Migrant workers were required to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in Canada, but hundreds have caught the virus while here. Three have died. Local residents working on farms have also caught the virus.
“Today’s threat to racially target migrant workers is only the latest salvo by elected politicians to scapegoat a vulnerable community,” said Chris Ramsaroop of the advocacy group Justicia For Migrant Workers.
“There is a crisis in farm worker housing and dangerous and deadly working conditions as a result of labour law exclusions to the most basic worker protections in agriculture.”
Ford said any migrant workers testing positive will be put in hotels at government expense and provided with food and health care. And he offered to take mobile testing units to farms.
The province previously held back Leamington and nearby Kingsville from going to Stage 2 reopenings because of outbreaks at area farms and massive greenhouse operations growing peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers, which can employ hundreds of people in some cases.
“I just need the co-operation of the folks. If you have a runny nose, if you’re feeling sick, please go get tested,” Ford said.
Seven more regions of the province moved to Stage 3 Friday, including York, Niagara and Halton, although not all businesses or municipalities are taking full advantage of the opportunity yet.
Markham, for example, will not open children’s playgrounds until next Wednesday and some restaurants and bars are sticking with patio service for now.
“Although Phase 3 allows us to open up for indoor dining, we’re going to stay the course and delay doing so until we get a better handle on things,” said Trailside Bar & Grill, in the picturesque Niagara town of Ridgeway, to plaudits from customers on its Facebook page.
“There are a lot of things to take into consideration and we’re just trying to make sure we get it right in order to ensure a seamless transition … thanks so much for understanding.”