Ontario officials tell Windsor's top doctor that now-rescinded pause on migrant workers was 'discriminatory'

Top Ontario officials say Windsor-Essex's acting medical officer of health went beyond his mandate and acted in a "discriminatory" manner when he ordered a halt to thearrival of temporary foreign workers as the region was dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks.

Separate letters fromMinister ofCitizenship and Multiculturalism Parm Gill and the province's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, were sent to Dr. Shanker Nesathurai after hisinstructions Jan. 12 to businesseswere walked back just a few days later.

Copies of their letters were obtained by CBC News.

Nesathurai'sletter of instruction toldemployers to cancel, suspendor postpone the arrivalof temporary foreign workersto the region between Jan. 13 and Feb. 1.

When the directive was first issued by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU), officials soundedthe alarm over a lack of space and resources to safely house migrant workerswho needed to isolate because of COVID-19. At the time, a federally funded Isolation and Recovery Centre was at full capacityafter it had beenempty a week earlier.

WECHU rescinded the letter of instruction two days later, after resolving that issue with the help of "all levels of government."

In his letter to Nesathuraithat was sent on Jan. 21, Gill said, "While we have had to take unprecedented steps to curb the spread of COVID-19 over the past two years, your direction to halt entry of temporary foreign workers was discriminatory and directly targeted a vulnerable population that has already been disproportionally impacted by the pandemic.

"These targeted restrictions would have placed undue blame and substantial financial burden on the temporary foreign workers who come to work in Ontario to help put food on our tables."

The minister thanked Nesathuraifor lifting his instruction, but urged him to offer the same protections to migrant workers that would be afforded to any essential worker in the province.

Moore, in his letter to Windsor's top doctor, questioned the legality ofNesathurai'sletter of instruction under Ontariolegislation. Moore said the Reopening Ontario Act is aimed at supporting organizations and businesses in efforts toadhere to public health guidance.

"We were concerned when we received your letter because, on our read of the letter, it went beyond instructing on public health measures for the safe operation of businesses and organizations, and instead sought to prohibit one or more aspects of their operation in a manner not consistent with O. Reg. 263/20: Rules for Areas at Step 2 under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to CoVvid-19) Act, 2020," Moore wrote.

The province made it clear it would not support a move such asthis in the future.

CBC News requested an interview with Nesathuraion Tuesday, but wasn't granted one at the time of this publication.WECHU said itwould make officials available during a regularly scheduled media briefing Thursday morning.

Controversial move saw some support

While some advocacy groups for migrant workerswere skeptical of the move to pause their arrival, at least one local official saw reasoning behind Nesathurai's letter.

Hilda MacDonald, themayor of Leamington, Ont.a major farming community in the regionsaidthe health unit had been "pushed to the walland saw [the order] as their only alternative."

"Sometimes we have to engage in drastic measures to get results," MacDonald said, after the letter was rescinded.

The mayor expressed disbelief when the letter was first introduced, saying she couldn't believe "three years in" there was still little support for the workers or farm owners themselves who have been hard hit by the pandemic.

She saidthe municipality itself has been unable to find a path forward in advocating for farmers and workers without jurisdiction on the matter.

The federal government oversees the temporary foreign workers' program, whichfacilitates the entry ofseasonal workers and provides guidelines for housing accommodations.

Thousands of workers have already begun arriving in the Windsor-Essex region for seasonal work, with thousands more anticipated in the next few weeks.

WECHU estimates 8,000 to 10,000 are expected during peak growing season.