'The fact that we know so little tells us a lot'
Three people were previously charged in relation to the 2021 death of a farm worker in Ontario – but those charges have been recently dropped, according to a report.
The incident happened on Sept. 23, 2021, when a farm worker was killed in a ginseng field located in Norfolk County, according to a report from the Hamilton Spectator.
The worker was hit by a piece of equipment that fell off a trailer. They sustained injuries and died at the scene.
Neither the police nor the Ontario government confirmed the identity of the worker. However, Shortly after the incident, someone claiming to be a co-worker launched a GoFundMe page seeking $15,000 to send the worker’s remains back to his native Vietnam, and support his wife and children there.
The fundraiser identified the deceased as Van Ngoc Le, but the campaign has since been deactivated, according to the report.
After a nearly year-long investigation, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development of Ontario charged three people under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) with failing to “provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker to protect the health or safety of the worker” and failing to “take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker.”
However, the ministry held back the names of the accused, referring to them only as two individuals “carrying on business in partnership as Lan Anh Ginseng Farm” and a supervisor from Golden Ginseng Farm.
But the Hamilton Spectator released names of those who were charged. Duc Duong Pham and Lan Thu Quach were charged on Sept. 15, 2022, and Anh Van Phan was charged on Sept 23, 2022, the publication reported, citing the court docket.
The charges were withdrawn during a brief court appearance in Simcoe on Sept. 12 “due to the Crown having determined that it lacked a reasonable prospect of conviction,” a spokesperson for the ministry said, according to the report.
“The decision to withdraw charges is within the prosecutorial discretion of the Crown. As such, the ministry has no further comment.”
Three judicial pre-trials were held ahead of the September hearing. However, those were closed to the public, according to the report.
It is “extremely concerning” that the charges were withdrawn, said Chris Ramsaroop, co-founder of the advocacy group Justice for Migrant Workers, according to the Hamiton Spectator.
“The fact that we know so little tells us a lot,” Ramsaroop said, according to the report.
“If this was another industry – construction, mining – there would be multiple regulations put in place to ensure that every aspect for the work undertaken works smoothly. In agriculture, that simply doesn’t exist. The transparency doesn’t exist. And it’s so haphazard that, by design, these places are going to continue to be dangerous and deadly.”
Ramsaroop said it is increasingly difficult for worker advocates and the general public to find out about deaths on Ontario farms, which leaves new hires vulnerable.
“Like in most occupations, there’s an under-reporting of injuries as well.
“So the true (picture) of how deadly and dangerous the industry (is) is going to be kept hidden.”
