Capleton Tomlinson’s life hasn’t been the same since 2015 when he suffered a significant injury while working as a boat driver at a farm in Simcoe, Ont.
The injury left the migrant worker from Jamaica unable to work and have to return home, and the lack of appropriate compensation from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has forced Tomlinson and his family into poverty, he told CBC News.
Tomlinson hopes he’s one of the migrant workers eligible for retroactive compensation from WSIB, after the board announced Wednesday that it will change how it compensates foreign agriculture workers injured on the job who can’t go back to their role.
“There’s days where we have to go to bed without having a proper meal. It’s embarrassing to say but that’s our reality. There are times when bills come up that I can’t pay for. It’s stressful, but that’s the reality of getting injured in Canada, it’s a disaster,” said Tomlinson from his home in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica.
“It’s been a struggle for us. Being injured is like a disease and when the disease comes with poor treatment from the people responsible, it makes our life tormented, so I’m happy to know there are changes.”
WSIB said it’s reviewing 50 claims dating back to 2007 and will likely pay out millions in retroactive compensation. Currently, workers are paid 85 per cent of their salary if they’re hurt on the job and unable to return for 12 weeks, but WSIB takes back money earned from other jobs.
WSIB’s president Jeff Lang acknowledged the practice is unfair because workers usually earn less in their home countries than they would in the same job in Ontario. He apologized to workers and promised change.
“These are some of the most vulnerable people working in Ontario today and we owe it to them if they get hurt on the job. These are people who come to work our farms, grow our food, and contribute to our economy. If they get hurt while they do it, our responsibility does not end when they return to their home country,” said Lang in a statement.
“I can’t say to an injured farm worker who was sent back to Jamaica that we are deducting the equivalent of an Ontario salary that is impossible for them to get. It’s not fair. I know that’s what was happening and I’m sorry it did. We’re fixing it.”
Changes not enough, says lawyer
In September, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal ruled that WSIB was wrong to assume seasonal migrant workers were eligible for a maximum of 12 weeks of income-loss compensation, and didn’t consider workers’ circumstances, including whether they’ve recovered from their injury or are capable of working or finding a job.
“It was a sigh of relief to see Mr. Lang say he’s going to change the way he treats injured workers but I’m frustrated they made us suffer for so long,” said Tomlinson.
In 2015, Tomlinson was carrying bins when a 1,500 lbs bin fell on him and he became trapped between the bin and a boat trailer.
He can’t sit or stand for too long without aggravating his injury and needs someone to drive him around if leaves his home, which he rarely does, he said. The financial situation has made it hard for him to support his children’s post-secondary education, Tomlinson added.
“Our children’s future has been jeopardized and we ourselves haven’t been able to provide for our families. It’s not fair to us as injured workers because we leave our country, come to Canada and work hard but now that we’re injured, we’ve been suffering.”
Afternoon Drive9:47Ontario changing how injured migrant workers are compensated
Injured migrant workers in Ontario will be compensated differently, but some advocates say it is still not enough. Host Matt Allen speaks with Maryth Yachnin, a lawyer with IAVGO Community Legal Clinic, and hears from a Jamaican worker still fighting for recovery after a farm injury in Simcoe eight years ago.
Changes to WSIB are a step in the right direction, but not nearly enough, said Maryth Yachnin, a lawyer a community legal clinic in Toronto that focuses on injured workers and appeals which led to the review.
“These changes will give some measure of justice but it can’t make up for the damage it’s done to [workers’] lives and having uncertainty, often not having enough food to make ends meet,” she said on CBC’s Afternoon Drive.
“[WSIB] essentially says they can be injured on the job doing really dangerous work and then disposed of once they can no longer do their jobs and support our agricultural system and that’s not the right message. Workers have to be treated with the same rights as we all do when we’re hurt at work.”
Yachnin said the 2007 cut-off is arbitrary and the new policy shouldn’t just protect a certain group of migrant workers, but apply to them all.
WSIB said it will contact affected workers directly starting the week of June 3.