By Amulyaa Dwivedi, CELA Communications Intern
Migrant agricultural workers play a crucial role in Ontario’s food system, spending long hours outdoors planting, weeding, and harvesting crops. But these physically demanding jobs under direct sunlight or in greenhouses expose them to serious health risks such as heat exhaustion, dehydration, and heat stroke.
CELA’s report on heat exposure makes it clear that these risks are pressing, and that protections for migrant agricultural workers during extreme heat are totally insufficient.
Ontario’s current occupational health and safety protections require employers to take “reasonable precautions” against heat, leaving important details vague and enforcement weak. There are no clear rules about when work should be stopped because of heat, nor are mandatory rest breaks or guaranteed access to shade and water consistently provided.
This lack of specific, enforceable standards is a result of laws that have not been updated to reflect the new climate reality, leaving many migrant agricultural workers working in dangerously hot conditions.
What’s more, some migrant agricultural workers live in on-farm housing provided by employers that is overcrowded and poorly ventilated, lacking air conditioning or fans to offer relief from soaring temperatures. For those workers, the danger from exposure to extreme heat doesn’t end when the workday is over. Without a cool and safe place to rest and recover, workers continue to be at risk of heat-related illness.
Yet our housing laws do not require enforceable indoor temperature limits, another sign that our legal protections haven’t caught up with the climate crisis. Language barriers, fear of losing their jobs, and limited access to healthcare also prevent many migrant agricultural workers from reporting unsafe conditions or getting the treatment they need.
Recognizing these gaps, a new private member’s bill currently being considered in Ontario aims to strengthen protections for outdoor workers, including migrant agricultural workers. CELA’s Julie Lopez recently wrote about this bill, highlighting how it would introduce clear standards for heat safety, such as mandatory breaks, access to shade and water, and better tracking of heat-related illnesses and deaths. These types of legal reforms are exactly what’s needed. Governments must modernize health and safety regulations to reflect the realities of climate change and ensure that no one is left unprotected.
The urgency of this issue has also been reflected in recent media coverage. The Toronto Star published an important article drawing attention to how rising temperatures are putting workers’ health at risk, and the need for better data on heat-related deaths. Jacqueline Wilson, counsel at CELA, emphasized that without proper tracking and stronger enforcement of heat safety measures, vulnerable workers remain at risk.
As climate change causes more frequent and intense heat waves, the need for urgent action grows.
Migrant agricultural workers deserve safe workplaces and adequate protections from exposure to extreme heat in their workplaces and homes. CELA’s report recommends that a new regulation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act include, among other protections:
- enforceable limits on working in extreme heat,
- shaded rest areas,
- access to free and clean drinking water,
- education on heat illness prevention in workers’ own languages, and
- stronger workplace oversight.
It also recommends enforceable maximum indoor temperature standards in on-farm housing.
To protect workers from the inequitable impacts of climate change, governments must do more than offer partial solutions – they must revise and strengthen all relevant laws and policies. Until our occupational health, housing, and public health systems are updated to reflect a warming world, the most vulnerable will continue to bear the brunt of the consequences.
Blog: Extreme Heat and Migrant Agricultural Workers – Why Protections Can’t Wait
This is the third in a series of blogs exploring how extreme heat affects vulnerable communities across Ontario. After looking at the impacts on children in schools and child care, and on tenants in rental housing, it’s important to turn our attention to another essential yet often overlooked group: migrant agricultural workers.
By Amulyaa Dwivedi, CELA Communications Intern
Migrant agricultural workers play a crucial role in Ontario’s food system, spending long hours outdoors planting, weeding, and harvesting crops. But these physically demanding jobs under direct sunlight or in greenhouses expose them to serious health risks such as heat exhaustion, dehydration, and heat stroke.
CELA’s report on heat exposure makes it clear that these risks are pressing, and that protections for migrant agricultural workers during extreme heat are totally insufficient.
Ontario’s current occupational health and safety protections require employers to take “reasonable precautions” against heat, leaving important details vague and enforcement weak. There are no clear rules about when work should be stopped because of heat, nor are mandatory rest breaks or guaranteed access to shade and water consistently provided.
This lack of specific, enforceable standards is a result of laws that have not been updated to reflect the new climate reality, leaving many migrant agricultural workers working in dangerously hot conditions.
What’s more, some migrant agricultural workers live in on-farm housing provided by employers that is overcrowded and poorly ventilated, lacking air conditioning or fans to offer relief from soaring temperatures. For those workers, the danger from exposure to extreme heat doesn’t end when the workday is over. Without a cool and safe place to rest and recover, workers continue to be at risk of heat-related illness.
Yet our housing laws do not require enforceable indoor temperature limits, another sign that our legal protections haven’t caught up with the climate crisis. Language barriers, fear of losing their jobs, and limited access to healthcare also prevent many migrant agricultural workers from reporting unsafe conditions or getting the treatment they need.
Recognizing these gaps, a new private member’s bill currently being considered in Ontario aims to strengthen protections for outdoor workers, including migrant agricultural workers. CELA’s Julie Lopez recently wrote about this bill, highlighting how it would introduce clear standards for heat safety, such as mandatory breaks, access to shade and water, and better tracking of heat-related illnesses and deaths. These types of legal reforms are exactly what’s needed. Governments must modernize health and safety regulations to reflect the realities of climate change and ensure that no one is left unprotected.
The urgency of this issue has also been reflected in recent media coverage. The Toronto Star published an important article drawing attention to how rising temperatures are putting workers’ health at risk, and the need for better data on heat-related deaths. Jacqueline Wilson, counsel at CELA, emphasized that without proper tracking and stronger enforcement of heat safety measures, vulnerable workers remain at risk.
As climate change causes more frequent and intense heat waves, the need for urgent action grows.
Migrant agricultural workers deserve safe workplaces and adequate protections from exposure to extreme heat in their workplaces and homes. CELA’s report recommends that a new regulation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act include, among other protections:
It also recommends enforceable maximum indoor temperature standards in on-farm housing.
To protect workers from the inequitable impacts of climate change, governments must do more than offer partial solutions – they must revise and strengthen all relevant laws and policies. Until our occupational health, housing, and public health systems are updated to reflect a warming world, the most vulnerable will continue to bear the brunt of the consequences.
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