Ontario Crash That Killed 10 Farm Workers, Public Inquest Declined

Feb 05, 2013

Coroner’s Office Determined Crash Was ‘Driver’s Error’, No Inquest Necessary

Ontario’s chief coroner said Monday that a public inquest isn’t necessary into the deadly crash that happened in southwestern Ontario, killing 10 migrant farm workers and a truck driver on Feb. 6, 2012.

The crash occurred in the hamlet of Hampstead, Ontario, when a 15-passenger van failed to stop and crossed the path of a transport truck, which killed 10 foreign farm workers and the truck driver. There were three farm works who survived the collision.

The coroner concluded that the crash was solely the result of the driver’s error. The decision was made after carful investigation of reviewing the deaths.

While the decision is final, the Agriculture Workers Alliance disagrees with the decision, saying that the inquest would have helped shed some light into the some of the difficulties that migrant farm workers face in Canada.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.