A migrant worker from Saint Lucia has been award a total of $23,500 [25,230 AUD] in damages after the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario found his employer guilty of violating human rights for discrimination. Double Diamond Acres was ordered to compensate Adrian Monrose for calling him and other staff members "monkeys."

Mr Monrose came to Canada and work for Double Diamond Acres under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program in 2008. He claimed that farm owner Benji Mastronardi and supervisor Jeffery Carreiro called him and his co-workers monkeys on May 20 and 21 in 2009.

"You're like monkeys on a branch," the St Lucian worker alleged that Mr Mastronardi shouted at them while visiting a greenhouse.

In another incident, Mr Carreiro also said, "That's why Benji calls you guys monkeys."

When Mr Monrose complained to Mastronardi about the racial taunts, he was fired on June 8 and was repatriated to St Lucia the next day, 12 weeks before his contract was due to end.

Mr Monrose filed a human rights complaint against the Kingsville farm with the help of a non-profit activist group for migrant workers.

According to The Star, both the owner and supervisor denied the allegation that they called their workers monkeys, claiming that Mr Monrose was terminated because "he was prone to violence."

There was apparently one incident that the worker pushed Mr Carreiro "with force sufficient to almost knock him down."

Adjudicator David Muir sided with the complainant, ordering Double Diamond Acres to pay Mr Monrose $5,500 in lost wages, $3,000 for lost dignity, and $15,000 for wrongful dismissal.

"I find that a factor in the decision to terminate the applicant's employment was that he complained about the monkey comment," Mr Muir wrote in his decision.

"I also find that the conclusion that the applicant was prone to violence was baseless and that his termination was more likely in response to his having raised concerns about being referred to as a monkey."

Double Diamond is also ordered to hire an expert to develop a comprehensive human rights and anti-discriminatory policy within 120 days, and to ensure all of its supervisor staff complete an online human rights course.

The company had no comment to the decision, while Mr Monrose, who supports a wife and three daughters in his native Saint Lucia, said that it was difficult for migrant workers to speak out against their employers because they might lose their jobs and be sent home.

"What happened to me shouldn't have happened. It hurts. I don't want anyone to experience what I went through. Many of us have wives and children to take care of. We are the breadwinners," he was quoted by The Star as saying.

"But I can't let people call me that kind of name. We are all the same and should be treated with respect."

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