A Biased Article

Re Life on the Farm, April

I was quite dismayed to read the very biased article regarding migrant workers in Ontario.

I doubt anyone would deny that there are problems within the program. Your article cites some specifics. What your article does not mention is the fact that most farmers have never asked their workers to do what they have not done themselves around the farm. It also ignores the numerous cases where farmers have gone far beyond what is expected in order to make life better for their workers.

If Justice Ministries would like to correct injustice, I would suggest that you start with an article of equal length that presents the other side of the story. Perhaps you would like to mention those families that have been sponsored by their Canadian employers so they can live in Canada permanently. Or those workers whose employers have personally taken them to the Shouldice Hospital in Thornhill for specialized treatment. Instead, you chose to give the impression that Michael Coley’s experience is the norm.

The congregation of St. Andrew’s, Niagara-on-the-Lake has partnered with a United Church in Jamaica to provide ministry to children in a very poor part of the island. This began as a result of our connections with the migrant workers program.

Those Christian farmers who quietly serve the Lord by making life as fair and rewarding as possible for the migrant workers have heard their Church imply that they simply don’t measure up. I believe the Lord would disagree.