Minister of Labour and Social Security, Horace Dalley, consoles a grieving Linnette Bell, widow of deceased Jamaican farm worker, William Bell, at the ministry's North Street offices in Kingston last Monday. - CONTRIBUTED
CANADA:
A MEMORIAL service was held last Tuesday for two Jamaican farm workers killed recently in a traffic accident in Delhi, Ontario, a farming community near Brantford.
The service for 54-year-old William Bell of Sandy River, Clarendon, and Desmond McNeil, 39, of Lennox Bigwoods, Westmoreland, took place at Murphy Funeral Home in the farming community.
Both McNeil and Bell were killed on Tuesday, September 27, when they were hit by a motor car as they rode their bicycles on Highway 59 in Delhi. A third worker, Frederick Smith, of Ticky Ticky, Manchester, survived the accident and was released from the London Health Sciences Centre.
Jamaica's high commissioner to Canada, Carl Marshall, offered condolences to one of Mr. Bell's sons, Junior, and daughter-in-law Arja, at a meeting at the Jamaica Liaison Service office on September 30.
GOVERNMENT SADDENED
"The Government of Jamaica is very saddened by the fact that we have lost two of our citizens. We are very sorry about the tragic death and hope that you and the rest of the family will be able to be comforted," Marshall told the family members.
Following the meeting, both men and acting Toronto Consul General Dale Jones visited the Sung Lee farm where the men worked. Located in the Simcoe area of Ontario, the farm, owned by the Kwan family, cultivates Chinese winter vegetables, and had eight Jamaican employees.
THANKFUL BUT BEREAVED
In an interview with Jamaica Information Service News, Mr. Smith, the father of three, said he was thankful to be alive but was mourning the deaths of his friends, whom he still could not believe were gone. His neck, back and knees were bruised and sore and he would have to wear a collar around his neck for about six months, he said.
The employer, Arthur Kwan, described both Bell and McNeil as good persons and valued employees. "They were always thinking about their families back home."
Mr. Smith arrived in Canada on April 15 and was slated to return to Jamaica on December 15. He is expected to return to Jamaica as soon as all statements have been collected.
