ID cards for Norfolk County migrant workers? One farmer plans to use them for kindling

Identification cards for migrant farm workers issued by the local health unit have raised eyebrows in Haldimand-Norfolk, but the chief medical officer says there's nothing nefarious at play.

The card includes fields for the worker's name, address and arrival date to Canada, along with their farm or employer's name and phone number.

The worker's photograph does not appear on the card.

Dr. Shanker Nesathurai said the ID cards are not mandatory and are meant as a convenient form of alternate identification.

These identification cards are not filled out by public health staff. They're filled out by the migrant worker themselves, or the farmer," Nesathurai said. They're voluntary. They're in no way required."

He said some workers might prefer to carry a small ID card around instead of their passport, adding that the cards could be especially useful in case of emergency for workers who don't speak English and spend their two weeks of mandatory self-isolation off the farm.

Since the card includes their date of arrival, Nesathurai said it could also help workers keep track of their own 14-day quarantine period and allow health unit inspectors to easily verify that it has ended.

If the person doesn't speak English, they could perhaps present the card. I don't think it would be used in any other way," he said.

Farmer Dusty Zamecnik can think of one other way the ID cards could be used - to discriminate against Norfolk's 4,500 migrant workers, who mostly hail from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Mexico.

We have a massive human rights issue on our hands (in terms) of profiling," Zamecnik said.

If I'm a person of colour walking in Simcoe, you're telling me a bylaw officer can ask, Can I see your card?' What if I've been living here for 20 years?"

Nesathurai downplayed the potential for racial profiling.

I don't think that will be the case. All we're trying to do is provide support for migrant farm workers in every way we can," he said.

We at the public health service are particularly sensitive to issues of stigma, and we do our very best to minimize stigma to all populations we serve. People who come as migrant workers are entitled to all the civil liberties and rights of every other person who lives in this district."

The health unit did not consult with Norfolk OPP regarding the ID cards, Nesathurai confirmed. He noted that by provincial statute during the pandemic, everyone has to identify themselves if asked by a bylaw official or police officer, so the ID card is one way to do that.

However, he stressed that migrant workers are under no obligation to carry it."

The ID card issue is set against an ongoing dispute between the health unit and some local farmers who are chafing against what they see as Nesathurai's heavy-handed response to the pandemic.

Zamecnik, who chairs Norfolk's agricultural advisory board, said issuing the ID cards implies that the health unit doesn't trust farmers to ensure their workers respect the quarantine period upon arrival to Canada.

Effectively, they're assuming that farmers are guilty until proven innocent," Zamecnik said. That we're not listening to federal, provincial and municipal quarantine acts. That we're not doing our part. And that we don't care about our community's health, our neighbour's health, and our own. It doesn't add up."

Zamecnik said he has no plans to give ID cards to the migrant workers at his Langton berry farm.

I really love outdoor cooking and I will be starting my fire with these cards," he said.

J.P. Antonacci's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows him to report on stories about the regions of Haldimand and Norfolk.