New Installations Demand Action From Niagara, Ontario And Ottawa On Road Safety, Housing, Labour Rights And Immigration Status
A News Release from the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change
Posted October 15th, 2026 on Niagara At Large
NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, ON — Canada has relied on migrant farm workers to growits food for 60 years. Yet workers are still being killed and seriously injured while cycling or walking home from work, buying groceries or simply visiting friends.
This October 14th, 2026, giant reflective signs reading “LOOK OUT FOR MIGRANT WORKERS” were installed along Niagara roads where migrant farm workers have been killed or seriously injured in recent years.
The reflective signs, designed to light up in car headlights, are being installed at five locations where seven migrant farm workers have been killed or seriously injured. Additional signs will be installed outside municipal offices in Niagara-on-the-Lake, St. Catharines and Lincoln.
With municipal elections just 12 days away, 36 of 63 candidates across Niagara-on-the-Lake, St. Catharines and Lincoln have signed the Migrant Worker Safety pledge, committing to solutions migrant farm workers themselves have demanded. See which candidates have signed: https://migrantworkersalliance.org/MigrantWorkerSafety
Members of Migrant Workers group in front of Catharines City Hall with signs, including one featuring pictures of three traffic victims
Migrant workers are also calling on Ontario and Ottawa to act on a coroner’s inquest, labour rights, housing and permanent immigration status.
The installations began on Concession 6 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, where Sinhue Garcia, a 39-year-old husband and father of two, was killed while cycling home in June 2026. Other locations include the sites where Zenaida, a 33-year-old Mexican farm worker and mother of two, was killed in 2019, and Fermin Soto Sanchez was killed and two of his co-workers seriously injured in 2022.
“Here in Niagara, we look out for our neighbours. For 60 years, our migrant farm worker neighbours have been coming here, growing the food that defines this region. But they’re still being killed and injured just trying to get home,” said Kit Andres, Niagara-based organizer with the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.
“Looking out for our neighbours means watching out for them on the roads, listening when they speak up, standing beside them when they demand change, and making sure everyone can move through the community safely, with dignity and respect. That’s what being a good neighbour means.”
Workers face dangerous roads because they have few choices
Migrant farm workers work long and unpredictable hours, earn low wages and have little control over their schedules. Most come to Canada on employer-tied work permits, which restrict their ability to change jobs.
They are excluded from basic protections under Ontario’s labour laws, and without permanent immigration status, they risk losing their right to work and remain in Canada when they speak up.
Migrant farm workers live in employer-controlled housing far from towns, often with inadequate living conditions, little privacy and few transportation options. Without reliable public transit, workers often have to walk or cycle to buy groceries, send money home, see a doctor, visit friends or simply spend time away from the farm.
Because of their work schedules, much of this travel happens after dark, on rural roads with fast-moving cars, inadequate lighting and no safe shoulders or crossings. These conditions force workers onto dangerous roads, where an ordinary trip can end in serious injury or death.
Ceto Reid, a Jamaican migrant farm worker who was seriously injured while cycling home from a laundromat in 2022, spoke today via video call, urging governments to take responsibility.
“Farm workers sacrifice ourselves to come to Canada and we need a lot of changes. We need more safety on the roads, more safety in the community,” said Reid.
“The people in authority should take much more responsibility because they are the ones making these decisions. They have to come on board and listen to us. People need to respect farm workers more and what we’re doing for the community. We are the ones feeding the people, so look out for us. We have to use the roads, we have to live here, we have to work here. Look out for us. We are here.”
All levels of government must act
A Press conference held in North Niagara where migrant worker Sinhue Garcia was killed
Migrant workers need decent housing, reliable transportation, safer roads, stronger labour protections and permanent immigration status so they can make real choices about their work and lives.
“Workers are being put in danger by policies that work together to deny them the freedom to make decisions about their own lives,” said Syed
Hussan, Co-Executive Director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.
“Municipal councils and Niagara Region have a responsibility to make roads safer and ensure workers have decent places to live. Ontario has a responsibility to investigate these deaths, protect workers’ rights and ensure safe housing. And Ottawa must give migrant workers permanent immigration status so they have the freedom to choose where they work and how they live. No one should have to risk their life simply to buy groceries, visit a friend or get home from work. Governments have had 60 years to act. How many more workers must be killed or injured before they do?”
Migrant workers are calling for action at every level of government:
Municipal councils in Niagara-on-the-Lake, St. Catharines and Lincoln:
- Ensure road safety with safer shoulders, better lighting and crossings, prioritizing routes identified by migrant farm workers.
- – Niagara Region: Conduct a worker-led road safety audit, implement their recommendations and publicly report on progress while proactively inspecting migrant worker housing.
- – Government of Ontario: Hold a coroner’s inquest into migrant farm worker road deaths and serious injuries, strengthen and enforce housing standards, and ensure farm workers are fully included in provincial labour laws.
- – Government of Canada: Ensure permanent immigration status for all migrant workers, so they have the freedom to make decisions about their employment, housing and lives.
Five sites where seven migrant farm workers were killed or seriously injured
The reflective signs were installed at the following locations:
- Concession 6 between Line 4 and Line 5 Roads, Niagara-on-the-Lake: Sinhue Garcia, 39, a husband and father of two, was killed while cycling home in June 2026.
- Concession 7 near Line 6, Niagara-on-the-Lake: Zenaida, a 33-year-old Mexican farm worker and mother of two, was killed in a hit-and-run while walking in 2019.
- Lakeshore Road and Townline Road, Niagara-on-the-Lake: Omar, a migrant farm worker, was seriously injured in a hit-and-run while cycling in 2023.
- Carlton Street and Dorchester Boulevard, St. Catharines: Ceto Reid, a Jamaican farm worker who had been coming to Canada for nearly two decades, was seriously injured in 2022 while cycling home from a laundromat nearly eight kilometres away.
- Seventh Street Louth, between South Service Road and Second Avenue Louth, St. Catharines: Fermin Soto Sanchez was killed in 2022, and his co-workers Alfonzo and Francisco were seriously injured after they were struck while travelling with their bicycles.
About the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change: The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change is a national migrant-led organization organizing with migrant workers for labour and immigration justice, with members across Canada, including in the Niagara Region, Ontario.
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