Farm van crash findings ignored: advocate

Three B.C. farmworkers killed in a horrific crash on the Trans-Canada Highway died in vain, says the head of B.C.'s biggest labour organization, despite a government claim that it was addressing all of the recommendations of a coroner's jury.

The workers died March 1, 2007, when a 15-passenger van carrying 17 people flipped over onto a concrete median on the highway near Abbotsford.

"On almost every count where we would have made farmworkers safer, the government rejected the recommendations," B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair told CBC News.

'Farmworkers are no safer today' —B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair

"They rejected the recommendations that the person doing the repairs on the vans shouldn't issue the safety certificate. They rejected the recommendation there should be a public inspection of every van. They rejected the recommendation on tire standards."

New laws

Sinclair made the remarks after reading a government release issued Thursday.

The release said that actions to address all of the jury's 18 recommendations had either been completed or were continuing, including new legislation aimed at improving the safety of people in 15-passenger vans.

Under the new laws, everyone in the vans must have a proper seat and seatbelt and there are fines for companies or drivers who overload such vehicles.

But Sinclair said too many of the recommendations have been ignored.

"Farmworkers are no safer today, unfortunately," he said. "The government is more interested in keeping the growers happy than they are in protecting farmworkers.

"We are left with the terrible legacy that these women died in vain."

The government said inspections in 2009 found a 10-per-cent failure rate for farmworker vehicles, compared to a 30-per-cent rate in 2007, and it has also increased efforts to advise farmworkers and employers of their rights and responsibilities.