I heard his booming voice before I saw him.
It was in 2007 at a Sunday night church service for Caribbean farmworkers.
His deep voice caught my attention, rising above the congregation’s enthusiastic singing, and I saw him, arms raised to the heavens, eyes closed.
I recognized him as 33-year-old Jeleel Stewart, with whom I’d had a delightful conversation a few weeks prior. He had been looking over a map of Jamaica in the bunkhouse kitchen with me, telling me about his family and his church back home.
It was his first year working in Canada, digging up and potting trees and shrubs and preparing them for shipping at Mori Nurseries.
Leno Mori, Stewart’s employer at the time, says in the documentary Migrant Justice, “It’s been an exceptionally good thing for us to have those people work here. The Jamaicans are tremendous workers. They’ll take a shovel and do heavy work, hard work, and they’re terrific. Without them there’d be very few farms operating . . . Getting all that labour here is virtually impossible, there’s no question about it.”
Stewart was brimming with enthusiasm about his job and the opportunity to work in Canada. His coworkers spoke very highly of him, calling him a natural leader. He was quick to lend a helping hand with others who struggled to keep up. At the end of the week he’d cook big pots of soup to share with coworkers who appreciated his home-style cooking.
Before returning to Jamaica in November, he invited my friend Jodie Godwin and I to visit his family at his home.
The following February we took him up on his offer while travelling across Jamaica. We enjoyed an unforgettable evening of family singing and incredible hospitality in his modest home. We could see why he was deeply respected, not just by his children but by his neighbours as well. He had such an animated way of communicating, laughing and bursting into song. The family may not have had much material wealth but his gift of undivided attention, love and care created deep bonds with all who knew him.
In March 2008, Stewart returned for his second year at Mori Nurseries. He joined our family for Easter, leading us in a game of dominoes and teaching Grandpa how to smack those tiles down just like a Jamaican!
In May, only two months after his return, his left hand was crushed by a forklift in a workplace accident. He underwent a three-hour surgery while the surgeon attempted to reattach severed nerves and tendons.
It was a painful time, mentally as well as physically. Having only arrived a few weeks prior, he had no money for groceries for himself or to send home to his family. He was unable to prepare meals with one hand. The isolation, boredom and anxiety of being alone for nine to 10 hours a day was unbearable. These were the days before smart phones and he could not afford phone cards to communicate with his family back home.
Members of the community helped him with meals. We raised funds to pack a barrel of food to ship to his family in Jamaica to help them get through the winter.
After three months, Stewart returned home, where he continued physiotherapy and was partially compensated by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) for two years.
Despite the intense physiotherapy, he was unable to regain the use of his hand and fingers. The injury left him with permanent damage and chronic pain.
In 2010 he received a letter from WSIB. They stated that he could conceivably find work at a gas bar in Niagara because he still had one working hand — this despite the fact that he lives in Jamaica and would not be able to pass a medical exam for work approval with one functioning hand. The controversial policy that guided their decision is known as “deeming.” In WSIB’s deeming process, they can reduce or eliminate benefits based on the idea that workers could be receiving wages from a job that they do not have.
Astounded at the WSIB decision, Godwin and I reassured him that we would get him through until the issue was resolved, thinking it would be two to three weeks at the most.
Instead it became a 16-year nightmare.
The relentless pain and inability to care for his family led to serious depression in the following years. Ten years ago he left us a phone message that he was ready to end his life. His wife Suzan lived in constant fear, worried about the future of the family and losing the love of her life.
They had to make impossible choices between sending the children to school or feeding the family. Despite our financial support, the three oldest children, Kemar, Cheyenne and Jamie, were unable to finish high school due to the costs of tuition, supplies and transportation.
He developed diabetes a few years ago. Unable to afford proper nutrition, his health began a precipitous decline.
Trying to navigate the WSIB system has proved to be impossible for all involved.
It added a whole other level of ongoing trauma for Stewart and his family who must live with the consequences of unfair Canadian policies. Communication is extremely difficult. Trying to feed a family and pay rent takes priority over cell phone data, and even then the service can be unreliable.
Who is responsible for this mess?
Will Braun, editor of Canadian Mennonite magazine, stated, “The Canadian system that welcomed his (Stewart’s) hard work — as well as his payments into Employment Insurance — will not take responsibility for the consequences of an injury he sustained while contributing to our economy on our soil.”
FARMS ( Foreign Agriculture Resource Management) is the private sector employer-run agency responsible for administering the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, authorized by the federal government.
The program has divested itself of any responsibility for injured workers.
Ken Forth, head of FARMS, says that if a worker is injured, it’s the responsibility of the Jamaican liaison (or the consulate of their home country) to talk with the WSIB.
Regarding Jeleel Stewart’s injuries, Leno Mori defers, “It’s a matter of government policy and WSIB as to how they do these things.”
He says he did everything according to the letter of the law. But who designed the law that excludes farmworkers from accessing much needed help after suffering injuries or illnesses related to the workplace?
This is not a bad apple, good apple scenario. Policies designed by Canadians to profit Canadians are woven into the very fabric of the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program.
Does it matter how long it takes someone to die to count as a workplace-related death?
Does a slow death due to malnutrition and poverty caused by a workplace accident count?
Leaders in the industry and the community have only added to the trauma and pain by claiming that injured migrant workers have the same rights as Canadians. These rights, however, are inaccessible for those who face medical deportation.
Statistics back up the reality that the goal of the liaison is to deport the injured worker as expediently as possible and provide a replacement. Despite their claims, they are not advocates.
Due to inaction on the part of the liaison service, countless injured farmworkers have also fallen prey to a legal system that lacks understanding of their unique challenges of trying to navigate complicated procedures from another country.
If workers are valued, then agricultural lobby groups and employers must step up to do the right thing. They have the power to end the WSIB’s unjust policy of deeming.
Time is running out for Jeleel Stewart and his family. At only 49 years old, his heart is failing and he has been in the hospital more than he has been with his family in the past three months.
WSIB must act now to provide proper compensation to him and his family.
Friday, April 28 is the National Day of Mourning to honour all workers who were injured or killed on the job. Show your support by attending the event at the Centennial Arena in Virgil at 9:15 a.m., and write to MPP Wayne Gates at [email protected]. Ask for justice for Jeleel Stewart.