LONDON, ONT. -- The saga involving Norfolk County farmers and the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit (HNHU) has taken another twist.
Farmer Brett Schuyler thought Friday he could put the issue of three migrant workers per bunkhouse to bed.
However hours after he and his team from Lerners Lawyers LLP won an appeal with the Ontario Health Services Appeal and Review Board (OHSARB) to get that cap removed, the HNHU filed an appeal of that appeal.
"All you can think of is give me a break here, what's next?" says Schuyler, who has only been able to use 30 of his 103 seasonal workers because of the Section 22 order imposed in March by Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, the medical officer of health for HNHU.
Brett Schuyler of Schuyler Farms hired lawyers and challenged Nesathurai's order which limited three-workers-per-bunkhouse.
Schuyler contested that his county was the only one in Ontario whose went above and beyond Federal and Provincial guidelines.
The appeal was heard by video over six days last month.
"We went through this process, I’d really like to focus on how can we work together to further this community health, further food production, that's what we want to do," says Schuyler.
The OHSARB decided that the three-man limit in a bunkhouse was quote "arbitrary” and "unreasonable." That part of the sec. 22 order has been deleted.
However in a statement released hours later, the HNHU said it is 'disappointed' in the board's decision, and referenced the recent outbreak at Scotlynn Farms in nearby Vittoria, Ont.
"As evidenced by the outbreak which took place during the hearing, the virus can easily spread among large numbers of workers living in a congregate setting, significantly impacting farming operations," the HNHU said in a statement.
"The number of workers able to self-isolate in a bunkhouse remains at three during the appeal process."
Schuyler says during these last few months, he's been stressed, lost money and workers.
"There's a lot of variables to this when you're dealing with a pandemic, but the three to a bunkhouse specifically, it's a real kick in the ribs."
Schuyler says he was excited to learn that Trinidad is flying again, and he was looking forward to seeing his long-time migrant workers.
But now he has to look into options as to where to quarantine his staff during this counter-action by the health unit.
"In my opinion, the big underlying issue here is we need to grow food," says Schuyler.
"What we need to be focusing on here is not appealing appeals, but we need to focus on minimizing outbreaks, and managing outbreaks, how can we best handle it? I'm hoping common sense will come through and we can focus on how can we come ahead here instead of fighting."
