CANADIAN LABOUR BRITISH COLUMBIA:

CHARGES FINALLY LAID TWO YEARS LATER AFTER MUSHROOM FARM DEATHS:

No one can accuse the "justice" system of being in undue haste over this one. Two years after 3 workers were killed and two others injured at an industrial accident on a Langley BC mushroom farm charges against the companies involved and their officers have finally been laid. Here's a statement form the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) on the charges.

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Charges laid in deaths of mushroom farm workers
Two companies and four corporate officials face a total of 29 charges for failure to protect the safety of employees.

Vancouver (1 Sept. 2010) - Charges have finally been laid after two years in the deaths of three mushroom farm workers at a Langley, B.C. mushroom farm. Two others were seriously hurt.

The Crown says the two companies, A-1 Mushroom Substratum Ltd. and H.V. Truong Ltd., are charged as employers, while the four individuals are charged as either directors or officers of the companies or workplaces. They face a total of 29 charges.

The offenses all fall under the province’s worker safety laws and can result in fines of up to $619,721 and six months in jail. The charges allege failure to protect workers from “reasonably foreseeable health or safety hazards.”

The workers were overcome by gas in an enclosed space at the mushroom farm and composting plant on Sept. 5, 2008.

Donna Freeman of WorkSafe BC said at the time that it was one of the most complex investigations the agency had conducted, with more than 25 investigators on the file.

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Here's a larger overview of the case from the Vancouver Sun.

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29 charges laid in 2008 mushroom farm deaths
Three men were killed, two suffered brain damage at Langley facility
By Doug Ward, Vancouver Sun August 31, 2010

Relatives of three men who died and two others who were severely disabled in a gas leak two years ago on a Langley mushroom farm are pleased that charges have been laid in the case -- but said even the maximum penalty of six months against the farm operators wouldn't be enough to end the pain caused by the tragedy.

Family members thanked government for proceeding with charges under the Workers' Compensation Act and Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, but during brief comments at a news conference broke down as they told of the outrage and loss they continue to endure.

Tracey Phan, a 14-year-old student at Winston Churchill Secondary, said it's heartbreaking for her and her sister to visit their father Michael Phan, who suffered irreversible brain damage and remains in hospital.

'It's hard on us. We don't know if he recognizes us or not. Or if he understands what we are trying to tell him. I would like to get justice back."

A-1 Mushroom Substratum Ltd. and H.V. Troung Ltd., along with four individual employers and supervisors, could face a range of penalties, up to a maximum fine of $619,271 for a first offence and six months in jail.

For Phan and other relatives who spoke, the maximum penalties aren't enough.

"I know that the law says that under that charge six months is the maximum. But I feel that six months is not enough because people that you love will never be given back to you. And six months sitting in that jail cell will never return any of the ones who you loved or cared about."

The charges laid Monday stem from a 20-month investigation by WorkSafeBC into what went wrong at the mushroom composting facility at 23751 16th Avenue in Langley.

"We are pleased that the charges are proceeding," said WorkSafeBC spokeswoman Donna Freeman. "This was a very serious incident in which three people lost their lives, two others were severely injured and the lives of all the family members were changed forever."

Freeman described the agency's probe as the "most complex investigation in WorkSafeBC's history."

Twenty-nine counts have been filed, including several alleging that the companies and their officials failed to ensure the health and safety of its workers and failed to remedy hazardous workplace conditions.

Freeman said the investigation report included tens of thousands of pages of documentation. She said the mushroom composting operation ceased after the accident but that the mushroom farm still operates at the same location.

The probe was delayed initially because of the presence of hazardous materials in the composting operation for seven months following the tragedy, she added.

Ut Tran, Jimmy Chan and Ham Pham died in the incident. Their colleagues, Phan and Thang Tchen, suffered irreversible brain damage after breathing in hydrogen sulphide and ammonia.

In addition to A-1 Mushroom Substratum Ltd. and H.V. Truong Ltd., Ha Qua Truong, Vy Tri Truong, Van Thi Truong and Thinh Huu Doan were charged in the information sworn in Provincial Court in Surrey.

B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair said he hopes the charges will force other farm operations to fix unsafe conditions.

"Perhaps these charges will result in some other employers understanding that unsafe work conditions are not acceptable in B.C.," said Sinclair.

The B.C. Fed president said that inspections on farm sites need to be stiffened to stop fatal accidents before they happen.

"The problem is that people think they can get away with this," he added.

Labour Minister Murray Coell said he hopes the charges in the case will lead to an appropriate resolution, especially for the families of those who died.

"I understand how the families feel. I've met with them," Coell told reporters in Victoria.

"I think what we want to see is to make sure that due process and justice is done and that's best done through the courts," he added. "I think due process is now moving forward."

dward@vancouversun.com with files from Jonathan Fowlie
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/charges+laid+2008+mushroom+farm+deaths/3463095/story.html#ixzz0yKXBogSh

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And here is how the BC Federation of Labour views these charges.

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Long-awaited charges positive news in mushroom farm deaths but questions remain
September 1, 2010
The BC Federation of Labour is welcoming news that charges have finally been laid against two companies and four individuals in the deaths of three workers at a mushroom farm in Langley on September 5, 2008.

"The families of the men who were killed and injured have waited a long time for news that charges have been laid," says Jim Sinclair, President of the B.C. Federation of Labour. "This is a step in the right direction and sends a message to employers that they face potential jail time if they fail to provide safe workplaces."

The owners of the mushroom farm are facing sweeping charges that include failure to provide adequate training, supervision, safety programs, identification of hazards and confined space precautions.

"We hope that justice will be done, but given the fact that three men were killed and two grievously injured, and the sweeping nature of the 29 charges laid by the Crown, we must question why criminal charges were not laid in this case," Sinclair says.

The Federation also questions the length of time it took for the WCB to complete its investigation and the laying of charges.

"It has taken two full years for charges to be laid and it is entirely possible that this case will not go to court for many more months. This is far too long in a situation where lives have been lost and other farmworkers lives could be at risk. These investigations and prosecutions need to be completed faster in order to make workplaces safer."

The Federation is also calling for the release of the WCB investigation report into the mushroom farm incident. The WCB is withholding the report until the prosecution is complete.

"The families of the men killed and injured at this mushroom farm are entitled to see the WCB report. They should not have to wait months or years to find out what happened that day," Sinclair says.

"These charges attest to the fact that too many farmworkers face unsafe working conditions every day in our province," Sinclair added. "We need a full public inquiry into working conditions in the agricultural sector to ensure that farmworkers aren't treated like second class citizens."

For more information: Evan Stewart Director of Communications (604) 430-1421.

CONSUMER AFFAIRS- INTERNATIONAL LABOUR:

HOCKEY STICKS AND SOLIDARITY:








An old anarchist once remarked that "none will be free until all are free". Recent events have given the 1,000,000,000th proof of this aphorism. What follow below is news from the Vancouver Sun of a recall notice from Health Canada for (literally) 100,000 hockey sticks sold in Canada but actually manufactured in China. To say the least this has been all over the media in recent days, much more so than the 'Canadian souvenirs' manufactured in China for the recent Winter Olympics. The problem is excessive lead levels in the paint on the hockey sticks. Yeah, they may or may not be a threat to Canadian children. I'll withhold judgement on that matter. What I will not withhold judgement on is the obvious fact that they are a much greater and obvious threat to the workers in China who manufacture them. But...



A LITTLE MOLLY NOTICE:
IT WASN'T AS IF THERE WASN'T FAIR WARNING
Looking through the Health Canada site Molly came on the following item from back in October 2008, In that month Health Canada had to recall a lot of 3,240 "mini-hockey sticks", once more from China and once more with excessive lead content. Yet...it happened again. THIS has not hit the popular media yet, though I hope that it will. It says something about the "efficiency" of the agencies that are supposed to protect consumers against this sort of thing. The CBC occasionally drops by this blog. If they catch this I hope they pick it up and run with it.











While emphasizing my own home province of Manitoba and secondarily Canada in general this blog has always been internationalist. This particular item is a stunning example of why internationalism is important, whatever the mean spirited criticisms that may be directed towards it. The chain of causation is obvious. Low wages and repressive government policies in China end up affecting consumers in North America. Even if you don't have hockey playing kids the number of points of interaction in the present global economy are endless.











It is very much in the self interest of people in country "A" to be in solidarity with workers in countries "B to Z" because the "drive to the bottom" of the international corporate economy means that the people of country "A" have to endure side effects of the exploitation of people in other countries. The great "hockey stick scandal" is just the most recent example. Thus, Molly says, pay attention when this blog asks for your support for workers on the other side of the world. In the end your ass is on the line as well. Here's the news of the recall from Health Canada via the Vancouver Sun.
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Andre Bard, manager of Pro Hockey Life in Kanata, Ont., removes recalled Bauer sticks.
One of Canada's largest sports equipment manufacturers is recalling 100,000 children's hockey sticks around the world after Health Canada warned the company of the sticks' high lead content.




"We immediately ordered the sticks pulled from stores," Bauer Hockey CEO Kevin Davis said Thursday in an interview.




Nearly 67,000 sticks from 13 recalled Nike Bauer junior and youth models were sold in Canada between 2004 and 2009, he said. All of the sticks, except one model, were manufactured before 2008 in one of the company's Chinese factories, Davis said.




The worldwide recall is just the latest in a series of incidents involving Chinese-manufactured children's products. The issue first grabbed headlines in 2007 when approximately 470,000 toys in Canada and 25.6 million in the U.S. were recalled because of lead paint.




Thursday's massive recall was prompted after Health Canada informed Bauer on Feb. 18 that it had conducted a random test and discovered the paint on the Nike Bauer Supreme One 50 composite stick contained lead well in excess of the allowable limit. The Health Canada analysis showed that the paint on the recalled sticks contained a total lead level of 2.3 per cent, nearly 40 times the maximum allowable limit of 0.06 per cent, said Stephane Shank, a Health Canada spokesman in an e-mail.




On March 9, Health Canada issued an initial recall of the nearly 8,000 sticks that were sold in Canada.




"We immediately began to independently test all 200 models of our hockey sticks," said Jones.




The Bauer testing turned up the 12 other models which have now been ordered off store shelves, he said.




Lead is extremely toxic for young children because they absorb it more easily than adults, making them more susceptible to its harmful effects.




According to Shank, the government agency has proposed lowering the maximum allowable lead level in some children's products to 0.0009 per cent from 0.06 per cent.




No illnesses related to the hockey stick recall have been reported to Bauer or to Health Canada.




Davis said when consumers return one of the recalled sticks, they will receive a brand new "elite level" hockey stick.

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-BRITISH COLUMBIA:

THE SPY AT THE FRONT OF THE BUS:

There's a bit of a scandal going on out BC way. As if spending billions of dollars of taxpayers' money uselessly on the 'Corporate Olympics' wasn't scandalous enough. According to a press report (see later in this blog) Victoria Police Chief Jamie Graham admitted that protesters coming from mainland were driven to the October 30 protest in Victoria by an undercover police officer posing as a bus driver. One wonders about the guy's qualifications to drive a bus, and one also wonders whether he obeyed all traffic laws during the trip, including those that say even the police must use their signal lights to turn or change lanes. Old habits can die hard. One more example of an overly paranoid police force spying on its citizens ? Spending money just because it's there ? You be the judge. Here's the press release response to the incident from the Olympic Resistance Network.

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Release: ORN Responds to Police Allegations of Undercover Cop Driving Protest Bus to Victoria:‏
TO ALL NEWS EDITORS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OLYMPIC RESISTANCE NETWORK RESPONDS TO POLICE ALLEGATIONS OF UNDERCOVER COP DRIVING PROTEST BUS TO VICTORIA

December 3, Vancouver Coast Salish Territories - According to reports by 24 hours news, on Monday Victoria Police chief Jamie Graham alleged that an undercover police officer was driving a bus organized by the Olympic Resistance Network to transport protesters to Victoria for an anti-Olympic Torch Relay protest on October 30. Graham stated "You knew that the protesters weren't that organized(Is renting a bus "disorganized"? -Molly ) when on the ferry on the way over they all rented a bus, they all came over on a bus, and there was a cop driving the bus."

In response, the Olympic Resistance Network is making the following statement:

"This latest revelation of police infiltration and surveillance reinforces the notion of an Olympic police state that anti-Olympic activists have long been warning about. Infiltration tactics, in conjunction with ongoing harassment of activists and a $1 billion police,security and military budget including high-tech equipment like the LRAD sonic gun and close circuit TV cameras, have created a chilly climate for the right to protest and the protection of basic civil liberties. Our organization and our activities are public. With allies in Victoria we organized a successful and disruptive protest with over 400 people. While the police will increase their surveillance activities and their attempts to divide us, we are seeing increasing resistance across the country with additional protests planned against the Torch relay in Quebec and Ontario.

We encourage more residents who are enraged and affected by the impact of the Games to get involved and to express their right to dissent against this five ring circus of oppression."

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Here, from Global TV BC, is an article originally published in the Vancouver Sun on the matter. What strikes Molly the most is the "offhand" way in which this admission was delivered. More on that later.

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Victoria cop infiltrated anti-Games group:
Civil liberties advocates unhappy with police, call undercover officer’s actions ‘invasive’
Darah Hansen,

VANCOUVER SUN: Thursday, December 3, 2009
Victoria police chief Jamie Graham was lying low Wednesday after reportedly disclosing that an undercover police officer, posing as a bus driver, had infiltrated a group of anti-Olympic activists on their way to a rally.

“You knew that the protesters weren’t that organized when on the ferry on the way over they all rented a bus … and there was a cop driving the bus,” Graham told an amused crowd attending the Vancouver International Security Conference on Monday.

The revelation was made public Wednesday in an audio recording posted on the 24 Hours newspaper website.

The voice on the recording is attributed to Graham.

In it, the chief can be heard saying that police initiated the undercover operation in an effort to quell potential violence stemming from a planned anti-Olympic rally in Victoria.

About 300 people converged on the city’s core Oct. 30 in a coordinated effort to delay the Olympic torch relay from its scheduled arrival at the legislature.

Very few arrests were made.

“Everyone left upset that not very much action happened,” Graham said. ( Is "everybody" the protesters or the police ?-Molly )

He declined The Vancouver Sun’s request for an interview Wednesday.

Victoria police did not issue a denial of the report. Spokesman Sgt. Grant Hamilton responded via e-mail that the chief “will not be commenting any further on this.”

The story broke the same day that a new Olympic watchdog group warned police against planting plain-clothes police officers in protests at the Olympic Games.

The Civil Liberties Advisory Committee (CLAC), in a media statement, said that plain-clothes officers should be allowed to observe protests but not participate in the demonstrations.

Tensions between Olympic resisters and security forces — including municipal police, RCMP and national security personnel — have been building as the Games approach.

Protesters have made repeated claims that police are stalking their movements to deter them from participating in events that are considered to be anti-Olympics.

“They’re treading so close to intimidation,” Olympics critic Chris Shaw said of police tactics, which have included officers questioning family and friends of people involved in Olympics resistance.

Police say they are just doing their job. By keeping tabs on protesters, officers can better maintain public safety while ensuring protest messages are still heard.

“We will use all lawful tools at our disposal to ensure we all enjoy safe and secure Games,” said Staff Sgt. Mike Coté of the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit.

CLAC spokesman Michael Byers said that having an undercover policeman drive a protest bus isn’t a clear violation of civil liberties because it falls into a “grey zone” between police officers observing and participating in protests.

“I’m not happy about the [bus] incident, but I don’t regard it as fundamentally in contravention of our recommendations,” Byers said.

Meanwhile, David Eby of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association said news of the undercover operation will likely be unwelcome among activists who already feel threatened by police leading up to the Games.

“It makes it very difficult for police and activists to have a constructive relationship with each other when activists know that they can’t even book a bus without potentially engaging a police officer in the middle of their planning,” he said.

Eby called the police decision to place an undercover officer among the protest group “invasive.”

“This is not al-Qaida,” he said. “This is a group of activists whose most serious threat they present is potentially delayed traffic.”

Coté said no one from the ISU was present to hear Graham’s remarks and so he was unable to confirm the accuracy of reported statements. ( I smell male cow manure here. Nobody from the security unit was present at the security conference ? Come on now ! What exactly were they doing ? Keeping their appointments with their audiologists perhaps. They seem to have a bad problem with their hearing.- Molly )

Coté said that generally, “we do not comment on specific investigative techniques that we may or may not be using.”

The ISU’s portion of the $900-million Olympic security budget is just over $490 million.
dahansen@vancouversun.com
With files from Doug Ward, Vancouver Sun

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So what can you make of this ? Molly has already reprinted an article, originally published at the Nanaimo based Porkupine Blog about how it is a distinct possibility that any violence that could happen at such demonstrations just might be at the instigation of the police themselves, especially undercover infiltrators. Even though there will always be some idiots who get their jollies from riots, it is a proven fact that police agents have been caught in the past attempting to initiate violence. The Montibello Summit stands as a recent example. The Olympic Resistance Network is insistent that it is a public group, and their activities bear this out fully. See the numerous reports I have published here at Molly's Blog on the resistance to the 2010 Olympics.

So what are the possibilities ? Let's count them out. Note that, from the above article Chief Jamie Graham has been "laying low" about his admission. One wonders if his political superiors haven't been twisting his ears hard.

A) The statement was made deliberately in order to intimidate people who might protest the Olympics. Highly unlikely. The various police forces involved in spying on the anti-Olympic protesters have made all sorts of much more visible moves, moves that have been far more intimidating. One doubts that this extra fillip had to be added to the salad. The security services have made it quite plain that they don't give a "number 2" about how visible some of their efforts are. This is partially because they want to cover their collective ass against any future charges that might result from any illegal actions on their part. It's mostly because what they have done so far, in public at least, really doesn't require any secrecy at all. See the complaints in the press release from the Olympic Resistance Network.

B)Chief Graham is a braggart who happened to find himself speaking at a conference attended by the "big boys", and he wanted to highlight the efforts of his own minuscule force. VERY likely. He could probably have kept his self-congratulations to boring everyday details about the efforts of the Victoria City Police, but he felt the need to sex up his speech with a "ha-ha" about how the other side was deceived. Apparently the comment did get a laugh (see the article above). In addition to being a braggart Graham may also be a fool. The two conditions are not mutually exclusive. God knows we have enough of such people here in 'anarchyworld' who are often referred to as the "summit hoppers".

C) The guy was drunk as a skunk and maybe has been in that condition for years. Note to organizers of any conference. Do not, I repeat do not, allow any speakers to get liquored before they climb the stage. One wonders what sort of hangover the guy had as his betters in the political world came down on him. This possibility is not as self obvious as B) above, but it shouldn't be discounted. The liquid anaesthetic does flow freely at most conferences, whatever they are about. Next time I suggest a cash bar rather than free hooch.

D)A combination of B and C above. Who knows. One wonders how the Chief is going to wiggle his way out of this one beyond issuing "no comments". After a decent interval I see early retirement in this man's future.

HISTORY:

LABOUR DAY BEGAN IN CANADA:

While anarchists, like most of the world, consider May Day, May 1, as the actual real Labour Day the first Monday in September is the officially delegated one in Canada and the USA. This Labour Day grew out of labour struggles in Ontario during the 19th century. Here's the story as told in the pages of the Vancouver Sun.

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Labour Day originated in Canada:
When asked what Canada is famous for, most people would probably say the Maple Leaf or hockey, or perhaps in a more serious vein, our impressive history of human rights.
Not one in a hundred people, Canadian or otherwise, would likely mention Labour Day. But as it happens, the holiday that celebrates the contributions of workers around the world began right here.

It all started on April 15, 1872, when Canada was just five years old. Although the United Kingdom had repealed a law making membership in a union a criminal offence in 1871, the crime still existed in Canada in 1872, and 24 leaders of the Toronto Typographical Union, who had been striking for a 58-hour work week, had been imprisoned.

That led the Toronto Trades Assembly to call its 27 unions to attend a demonstration, and on April 15, 10,000 people turned out to hear speeches calling for the repeal of the law that made union membership illegal.

Buoyed by that success, on Sept. 3 members of seven Ottawa unions held a parade a mile long, led by the Garrison Artillery Band and flanked by city firefighters. The parade made its way to the home of then prime minister John A. Macdonald, picked up the PM -- literally -- and took him to Ottawa City Hall in a carriage by torchlight.

Ever the savvy politician, and evidently aware that it was best not to rile up a mile-long parade after dark, Macdonald promised that he would "sweep away all such barbarous laws from the statute books."

Macdonald and the Conservative government made good on his promise the following year.

But the trade unions had further work to do, so they continued to hold annual parades and demonstrations.

On July 22, 1882, the Toronto Trades and Labour Council decided to invite New Yorker Peter J. McGuire, the general secretary of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and co-founder of the American Federation of Labour, to speak at the demonstration.

McGuire was duly impressed by the event and, when he returned home, he proposed that the United States celebrate a day in honour of workers. Sure enough, the Americans celebrated their first unofficial Labour Day on Sept. 5, 1882, and McGuire became known as the "father of Labour Day."

Over the next decade, individual states enacted legislation designating the first Monday in September Labour Day, and on June 28, 1894, the U.S. Congress passed a federal law enshrining the holiday. Just four weeks later, the government of then prime minister John Thompson enacted a similar law, and now the first Monday in September is celebrated as Labour Day throughout North America.

So in little more than a century, workers have gone from fighting for 58-hour weeks to expecting the standard 35- or 40-hour week. Strangely, though, despite these advances, recent surveys suggest that people are working harder than ever, and have less free time. Many workers don't even take all of their allotted vacations, and they stay tied to their desks through the "advances" of technology.

The economic meltdown, which began just about a year ago, has only made workers' woes worse, as layoffs have made the overworked the objects of envy.

From this perspective, things can only go up, and, if recent economic prognostications are to be believed, it appears that they will in relatively short order.

That's certainly worth celebrating right now.