TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 28, 2012) - Two migrant workers who survived a horrific crash near Hampstead, Ontario that killed 11 others in February, will speak to the public for the first time at a Ryerson University symposium on October 2.
MEDIA ALERT: TORONTO NEWS AND ASSIGNMENT EDITORS FOR TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2 AT 12:00 NOON.
| WHAT: |
| "LOCAL FOOD, GLOBAL LABOUR: FOOD JUSTICE NEEDS MIGRANT JUSTICE" symposium. |
| A public forum on protecting the human and labour rights of migrant workers in Canada. |
| Part of Social Justice Week at Ryerson. |
| |
| WHEN: |
| Tuesday, October 2 from 12:00 noon to 2 p.m. |
| |
| WHERE: |
| Room SCC115 (Thomas Lounge), Ryerson Student Campus Centre |
| 55 Gould Street |
| Toronto M5B 1E9 |
| |
| WHO: |
| Alba Medina and Ariza Mejia, Hampstead crash survivors |
| Mustafa Koc, Centre for Food Security Studies, Ryerson University |
| Naveen Mehta, United Food and Commercial Workers Canada |
| Lauren Baker, Toronto Food Policy Council |
| Chris Ramsaroop, Justicia for Migrant Workers |
| Diana Bronson, Food Secure Canada |
BACKGROUND:
On October 2, at Ryerson University, two migrant workers who survived a horrific crash near Hampstead, Ontario that claimed the lives of 11 others, will share their story and their plea to be allowed to stay in Canada and build a new life for themselves and their families.
Alba Medina and Ariza Mejia were critically injured when the van they were travelling in with 11 other migrant agriculture workers was struck by another vehicle on February 6. Since then, the two migrant workers from Peru have been recuperating at a London, Ontario facility, but neither will ever fully regain their physical capacities.
Alba Medina and Ariza Mejia will be participating in "LOCAL FOOD/GLOBAL LABOUR- FOOD JUSTICE NEEDS MIGRANT JUSTICE" - a midday symposium on Tuesday, October 2, from 12:00 noon to 2 p.m., as part of Ryerson University's 2nd Annual Social Justice Week.
Both men are now seeking to stay in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. They will share the details of what has happened since Hampstead, and the "Right to Stay Campaign" to support their efforts to remain in Canada. Their campaign is supported by UFCW Canada, the country's largest private-sector union, and the organizer of the Migrant Workers Support Fund. The fund raised more than $226,000 from labour allies and community groups across Canada and was distributed in equal shares to all of the families of the deceased and survivors of the Hampstead tragedy.
Medina and Mejia were the first two recipients. Joining them at the Ryerson symposium will be student, labour and community activists, and academics in the field of food security and food policy. The panel will discuss the tremendous contribution that migrant agriculture workers make to the Canadian community and what must be done to ensure the labour and human rights of migrant workers are respected and enforced.
The midday symposium will be followed by a participatory workshop, "Building Alliances for Sustainable Food and Just Labour", from 2:30-5 p.m.