Demonstrators fried eggs on sidewalk and inside a car to symbolize work in fields and greenhouses
Advocacy groups and supporters gathered outside the Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL) offices in Toronto on Thursday to demand urgent reforms and protections for migrant and agricultural workers facing extreme weather conditions across the province.
“We see weather conditions worsen as a result of climate change, whether it is severe thunderstorms, poor air quality, or extreme heat. Why should workers have to ask this government for the basic protections they should already have?” said Taneeta Doma, an organizer with Justicia for Migrant Workers (J4MW) and staff lawyer with the Migrant Farmworker Legal Clinic, at the demonstration.
The demonstration, organized by J4MW alongside the Injured Workers Action for Justice and other community organizations, aimed to draw attention to the lack of comprehensive legal protections for workers exposed to severe heat, poor air quality, and other hazardous weather. As part of the protest, organizers attempted to fry eggs on the sidewalk and inside a car, symbolizing the intense heat that workers endure both in the fields and in greenhouses. “We tried to fry one on the sidewalk to simulate field work, and then in a car to simulate greenhouse work. The temperature was about 70 degrees in the car and about 40 degrees outside with the humidity,” Doma explained.
After the demonstration, J4MW delivered a letter and the partially cooked eggs to Ministry representatives. The letter’s demands include anti-reprisal measures, proactive workplace inspections, clear temperature triggers for extreme heat, and the extension of health and safety protections to agricultural workers and their accommodations. The group also advocates for permanent paid sick days, paid breaks during extreme weather, and adequate shade, water, and hygienic facilities for workers.
Chris Ramsaroop, an organizer with J4MW, underscored the urgency of the issue: “We should not be waiting for another tragedy to occur where a worker is sick or dies because of heat conditions,” he said in the group’s press release.
The demonstration also commemorated Garvin Yapp, a migrant farmworker who died in a workplace accident in 2022 after more than three decades working in Canada. While the Ministry of Labour initially charged Yapp’s employer, charges were later dropped due to insufficient evidence, leaving advocates frustrated by the lack of accountability. “A family's only option shouldn't be to prosecute the employer responsible for their loved one's death,” Doma said, expressing the frustration of many in attendance.
Ministry representatives accepted the group’s letter and listened to their concerns but did not provide an immediate response. Organizers remain skeptical that meaningful action will be taken, citing previous instances where commitments to introduce heat stress regulations were reversed or stalled.
Doma stressed the importance of legislation that protects workers from retaliation for raising safety concerns and called for the government to take responsibility for ensuring safe working conditions. “Any legislation that's introduced needs to ensure that workers are not being punished for raising concerns and shouldn't put the responsibility on them to do that,” she said.
The Ministry of Labour has been given until August 1 to respond to the group’s demands.
