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Fines inadequate when workers lose lives

This past week, a judge handed down fines totalling $350,000 against two companies and three men involved in the Langley mushroom farm case where three farm workers died in 2008 and two others suffered brain damage.

This past week, a judge handed down fines totalling $350,000 against two companies and three men involved in the Langley mushroom farm case where three farm workers died in 2008 and two others suffered brain damage.

The family members were rightfully disappointed. The judge could have issued jail time - had the crown prosecutors asked for it. But the crown didn't ask for jail time, and hence the judge's fine. The company owners pleaded guilty to 10 of the 29 charges laid against them. They had failed to put in place any health or safety training or standards at the farm despite being warned about potential safety problems more than a year earlier.

The workers very literally ran into a death trap.

In reality, because one of the companies is bankrupt, a $200,000 fine will likely not be paid. So, it appears that $150,000 is the cost for failing to protect the lives of one's workers.

In these kinds of cases, there is no doubt that anybody - negligent farm owner or family member - ever escapes the fallout. But we seriously question how the prosecution or judge can rationalize a fine for such negligence and lack of responsibility. Does a $150,000 fine really send a message to other industries who may be cutting corners on safety regulations or training? We think not.

Burnaby-Edmonds NDP MLA Raj Chouhan said he was "disappointed" with what he considered "a small fine when you look at the lives destroyed."

We agree.

B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair called for a public inquiry into the agriculture industry, and an inquest.

Again, we agree. But we doubt very much if anything will come out of these calls.

Farmworkers are among the most vulnerable and poorly paid workers in B.C. This judgment merely reinforces the view that farmworkers are somehow less worthy in our workforce.