Inadequate housing for migrants cited in coroner report
May 6, 2021
A coroner’s report into the COVID-19 deaths of three migrant farm workers last year has highlighted the role crowded, inadequate housing played in spreading the deadly virus on Ontario farms, plus a jumble of overlapping jurisdictions overseeing the living and working conditions of temporary foreign workers.
Deputy chief Ontario coroner Dr. Reuven R. Jhirad is recommending a further, formal inquest into the deaths of Bonifacio Eugenio Romero, Rogelio Munoz Santos and Juan Lopez Chaparro in May and June of last year.
Fr. Peter Ciallella, who presided at a memorial Mass for Lopez Chaparro at Blessed Sacrament Church in Burford, Ont., last year, is not surprised the coroner highlighted housing.