Raj Chouhan is pleased with the jury's recommendations following an inquest into the deaths of three mushroom farm workers, but the Burnaby MLA wants government to implement the changes.
Chouhan, the NDP's labour critic and a founder of the Canadian Farm workers Union, said the recommendations are good, but only if they are implemented.
"You can have the best law in the world, but if it's not enforced, it's useless," he said.
The B.C. Coroners Service held the public inquest in Burnaby, examining the deaths of Ut Tran, Han Pham, and Chi Wai (Jimmy) Chan, workers who died on a Langley mushroom farm in 2008 after they entered a pump house where deadly hydrogen sulfide gas had accumulated. The workers were trying to unclog a blocked pipe. The seven-day inquest wrapped up with 15 jury recommendations. They called for professional engineers to approve design and construction of new mushroom composting facilities, and regulations to ensure brown water tanks are aerated. The majority of recommendations was directed to WorkSafeBC, calling for more agricultural inspectors and prevention officers, and surprise inspections of high-risk sectors.
During the inquest, two paramedics who arrived at the farm stood by helplessly, unable to enter the shack, because they lacked the training or equipment to handle deadly gases in confined spaces.
The jury also recommended to equip ambulances with an atmospheric test meter, something Chouhan said was already recommended six years ago.
"Nothing was done," he said.
Each of the jury's recommendations are important, Chouhan added.
"I hope the government will accept them and implement them. Some are very critical and they should be done right away," he said.
Chouhan attended most of the seven-day inquest.
"It was really hard to sit with the family members, looking at them, listening to their stories. The devastation they have gone through - it is not easy to describe in words," he said. "All they were asking for is that it doesn't happen again to any family."
To see the full list of recommendations, go to Jennifer Moreau's blog at www.burnabynow.com.
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