Denied health care, former migrant dies
Alberto García, a Mexican migrant farm worker who fought unsuccessfully to receive full cancer treatment in Canada, died in February in his rural village of San Matías Cuijingo (pictured) in the state of Juchitepec. He was 39, and is survived by his wife Mirabel and three children. UFCW Canada had been amongst those advocating for him to continue receiving treatment in Canada, but he was returned to México in December 2006 when his visa expired. “This is a sad end to a shameful story,” says UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley. “Brother García was working in Canada, at the invitation of Canada, and he should have been entitled to ongoing Canadian health care for his illness. Migrant and temporary workers deserve the same rights as Canadian workers.” García fell ill in May 2006 while working in a Simcoe, Ont., greenhouse under the Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (CSAWP). He received health care in a London, Ont., hospital until he was forced back to rural México, where he could not afford chemotherapy or even palliative care. |