Migrant workers caught in DNA dragnet reach final settlement with OPP

The lawyer representing migrant workers caught in a DNA dragnet is calling a settlement with provincial police a “complete victory” for the marginalized group, a long-awaited conclusion following a human rights-violating sweep of workers a decade ago.

The settlement on non-financial remedies between Leon Logan, the representative plaintiff for the 56 workers, and the Ontario Provincial Police and Ministry of the Solicitor General is the culmination of a long push by the workers and their advocates after investigators collected voluntary DNA samples from scores of migrants following a violent sexual assault in Bayham Township in October 2013.

“It’s absolutely wonderful. I couldn’t be happy for the workers who were involved in the case. Their perseverance is really a testament to what they can achieve when they come together,” said Shane Martínez, the pro bono counsel representing the workers.

The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario last August ruled the OPP violated the rights of the 96 migrant workers caught up in the DNA dragnet.

The administrative tribunal, which hears and adjudicates complaints of discrimination made under the Ontario Human Rights Code, awarded $7,500 in damages to each of the 56 workers in the action, plus pre- and post-judgment interest.

A hearing about non-financial remedies had been scheduled for last month, Martínez said. In addition to financial damages, the workers had been seeking the destruction of the DNA profiles collected in the sweep, a seal on the workers’ personal information in police databases and for the OPP to develop policies and procedures for DNA sweeps.

A settlement with the OPP and Ministry of the Solicitor General – agreeing to all three items – was reached before the May hearing, Martínez said Thursday.

“We took it down to the wire, and with the meeting coming up they decided it would be in the best interest to settle the case and we settled it. We got exactly what we wanted,” Martinez said.

Martínez collaborated with Justicia for Migrant Workers in pursuing the action. The grassroots group represents temporary foreign workers and launched the complaint about the police investigation.

While the financial award only applies to the 56 workers involved in the human rights tribunal action, the workers who chose not to be part of the litigation still will benefit from the non-monetary terms of the settlement, Martínez said.

The long-awaited victory is a testament to what can be accomplished when migrant workers, a vulnerable and oftentimes marginalized population, band together, Martínez said.

“It shows that if they’re given the opportunity to have access to justice, they make use of it. Unfortunately, because of the way the seasonal agricultural worker program is structured, they don’t always have that opportunity,” he said.

“This is one of these exceptional situations where we see what’s possible when they have that opportunity and are able to have their voices heard.”

Comment on the settlement from the Ontario Provincial Police was not immediately available Thursday.

Investigators said they did the sweep in 2013 to compare the samples to a DNA profile generated from a sexual assault kit and evidence left at the scene where a

a woman was sexually assaulted at her home.

Investigators collected DNA from a range of racialized workers, regardless of whether their physical characteristics and age matched the suspect description.

Police had said time was running out to solve the case, with the harvest season nearly over and most migrant workers expected to leave Canada.

Only a handful of migrant workers refused to comply with the DNA sweep, including Henry Cooper of Trinidad. Investigators used one of his discarded cigarette butts and other evidence to generate a DNA profile, matched it to the suspect’s genetic profile and ugly charges.

Cooper pleaded guilty to sexual assault with a weapon, forcible confinement and uttering death threats in June 2014 and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

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