Pausing entry of migrant workers to Windsor-Essex was run by legal counsel, region's top doc says

Windsor-Essex's acting medical officer of health says alerting businesses to pause the entry of temporary foreign workers to the region amid COVID-19 was done with proper legal counsel.

In a media briefing Thursday, Dr. Shanker Nesathurairesponded to Ontario officials' concerns that he may have overstepped his authority in issuing the directive, whichwas walked back days later.

He was sent two separate lettersfromMinister ofCitizenship and Multiculturalism Parm Gill and the province's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore lastweek.

"Any time the public health service constructs a letter of instruction, it's formulated by very experienced legal counsel and legal counsel gives us the best possible opinion on an order or direction," the actinghead of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU)told reporters.

Nesathurai'sletter of instruction toldemployers to cancel, suspendor postpone the arrivalof temporary foreign workersto the region between Jan. 13 and Feb. 1, but was rescinded two days later.

When the directive was first issued by Nesathurai, officials soundedthe alarm over a lack of space and resources to safely house migrant workerswho needed to isolate because of COVID-19. At the time, a federally funded Isolation and Recovery Centre was at full capacityafter it had beenempty a week earlier.

On Thursday, Nesathurai defended issuing the letter in the first place, stressing the lack of safe and available isolation spaces,and clinical staff to support and check on those in isolation.

WATCH | Nesathurai says Windsor-Essex health unit works hard to protect migrant workers:

Safety of migrant workers has been an ongoing priority, says Windsor-Essex's top doctor

3 years ago

Duration 1:29

Acting medical officer of health Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, joined by other public health officials, sayd the commitment to protecting temporary foreign workers in the region has been ongoing. But housing accommodations, overseen federally, remain an issue.

Nesathurai said an "extraordinary amount of dialogue" took place between the local health unit and all levels of government before he issued his letter of instruction. He said he advocated that isolating migrant workers needed more than just a place to stay, requiringpsychosocial medical supports, clinical care and staff to check onthem.

Hesaid those needs weren't met at the the time he issued the letter of instruction.

In his letter, Gill said the doctor's instruction was "discriminatory" toward the workers.

Chris Ramsaroop, an advocate for migrant workers, criticizedthe provincial government for sending the letters to Nesathurai.

"It is concerning that the Conservative government, through Parm Gill, would rather write a letter, rather than look what their own government doing," said Ramsaroop,an organizer for the group Justice for Migrant Workers.

"They'd rather point fingers, than take a hard look in the mirror of what their government has not done to protect this vulnerable community."

Advocates and health-care officials have long pointed out that congregate living accommodationsare not ideal or adequate to protect people from thecoronavirus.

Nesathuraireiterated Thursday what he's been saying for months that 20 or 30 people in one accommodation sharing a kitchen and bathroom won'tprevent the spread of COVID-19 between people.

The federal government is in charge of the Temporary Foreign WorkerProgram, including setting guidelines for living accommodations and conducting inspection at farmshiringworkers.

Last month, the county's auditor general filed a scathing report, saying federal inspectors ignored pandemic regulations and failed to keep tabs on how well farmers were protecting their employees.

This month, one migrant worker died in a workplace accident in Leamington, and another died while isolating with COVID-19.

Ramsaroop is calling for accountability surrounding the circumstances of those deaths.

Both are under investigation by the province.