Penticton Western News, August 22, 2014

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NEWS PENTICTON WESTERN

www.pentictonwesternnews.com

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NEWS PENTICTON WESTERN

Steve Kidd

Western News Staff

Problems faced by migrant farm workers in the South Okanagan go far beyond the two Mexicans found living in squalid housing according to one South Okanagan volunteer. “But to try to change things anymore, I have given up. It is just like nothing ever changes. And we have been doing this for over six years,” said Sandy Diaz-Hart, who continues to teach English to migrant workers. The two men, employed under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program at a Summerland Farm, were being housed in a dirty garage. According to Bob Cowles, a Canadian worker who was also working at the farm, conditions were deplorable for the Mexican workers. “They’re not cattle. They’re not livestock. They’re human beings,” Cowles said. Pictures taken at the farm show the outdoor cooking area just metres away from the portable toilet. Inside, the men were given pressboard sheets for sleeping mats, while the garage had no electricity or running water. The two men have been removed from the situation and transferred to a farm in the Fraser Valley. But according to DiazHart, their situation isn’t unique. “There is a lot of problems. I don’t know how the farmers just seem to get away with it. Sometimes I get very upset because it seems like everybody knows, but nobody is doing anything about it,” she said. “Here in Cawston and Keremeos, there has been a lot of incidents, a lot of workers that sometimes cannot handle the treatment, or the abuse or the situation. I know that two just left yesterday and another two got transferred.”

Diaz-Hart said she has heard of situations ranging from overcrowded worker housing, insect infestations and farmers refusing to transport workers to town for shopping (required under SAWP) to tax fraud, with a farmer not supplying T4 slips as required. “Everybody is making money out of these guys. They pay CPP. When would they ever collect the pension? Never. They pay their own health insurance, they pay unemployment, they pay taxes,” said Diaz-Hart. “Everybody is benefiting from these guys being here, but we don’t seem to be looking after them in the way we should.” BCFGA president Fred Steele said what happened with the two workers in Summerland was unfortunate but proof the system works. “It’s a complaint-based system and that is the way it works. My understanding is they removed them and they are working somewhere else,” said Steele. “If somebody complains to the BCFGA, we immediately get in touch with the consulate. At the same time, the BCFGA can’t go throughout the hills and woods looking for problems either.” Diaz-Hart said many of the workers are not fluent in English, so communicating their complaint can pose a problem, and are afraid to speak out, fearing to be sent home or face reprisals. “The Mexican consulate wants everything to be really good, they don’t want anyone to make waves,” she said. Steele said the workers shouldn’t be afraid to come forward, reiterating that the two workers from Summerland weren’t sent home. See WORKERS on Pg.3

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ICED LITKE — Penticton firefighter Chad Taylor douses Mayor Garry Litke with a bucket of ice water in front of city hall Wednesday. Litke accepted the ALS challenge from Penticton Western News reporter Joe Fries who got the cold shoulder earlier in the day at Skaha Lake. For more on this story, and more pictures, see Pg. 27.

Mark Brett/Western News

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