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1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION The Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting (CAIR), formerly known as the Canadian Agriculture Injury Surveillance Program (CAISP), was established in 1995 in response to the need for better information about fatal and hospitalized agriculture-related injuries in Canada. CAIR is a national program with collaborators from across Canada. Agriculture- related Fatalities in Ontario examines Ontario agriculture-related fatality data for the 10-year period between 2011 to 2020. This report includes trends over a 31-year time period (1990 to 2020) as well as an in-depth analysis of mechanisms of injury over a 10-year time period from 2011 to 2020. The reported agriculture-related fatality data is for persons who were part of the Canadian farm population, those who were temporary foreign workers under the seasonal agriculture workers program from Citizenship & Immigration Canada, or those who were at risk for agriculture-related injuries in Canada from 2011 to 2020. From 2011 to 2020, there were 156 agriculture-related fatalities in Ontario; an average of 16 per year. Over the 10-year surveillance period, the average fatality rate per 100,000 farm population, per year, was 8.5 fatalities. Following this introduction, there is a description of the methods used by CAIR. Agriculture- related fatalities in Ontario are then described. 1.2 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE-RELATED INJURY SURVEILLANCE IN CANADA Agriculture-related injuries have been recognized as an important rural health issue since the 1960s when the problem was first recognized in the medical literature. At that time, some provincial groups began to monitor agriculture-related injuries, but only since 1998 have substantial national resources been committed to the study of agriculture-related injuries. When compared with other Canadian industrial sectors, agriculture is a dangerous occupation. Agriculture ranks as the fourth most hazardous industry in Canada with respect to rates of fatal injury. In terms of absolute numbers of fatalities, 1 there is no more dangerous occupation. Economic costs associated with agriculture- related injuries are also substantial. In 2004, agriculture-related injuries in Canada cost $465 million dollars. Unintentional injuries accounted for the majority of costs, 80% of all agriculture- 2 related injury costs ($374 million). Until the establishment of CAIR, Canadian data on agriculture-related injuries were limited. This surveillance program has filled an important void in providing national evidence of agriculture- related injury occurrence that can be used in developing effective and targeted injury prevention strategies. CAIR data has been used by various groups internationally, including Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. CAIR has been referenced in a variety of inventories and compendiums including guides to occupational and environmental health and safety, casebooks, and inventories published by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). In terms of policy, CAIR has been used as a reference source for agriculture-related injuries at international, national, provincial, and regional levels. Information gathered indicates that the program's data has contributed to informing, influencing, and enacting policy development at Canadian Agriculture Injury Reporting Agriculture-related Fatalities in Ontario 1990 – 2020