Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is grappling with a C$170,000 fine after admitting to breaching Canada’s Occupational Health and Safety Act in a 2022 incident that resulted in a contract worker sustaining critical injuries.
The unfortunate event unfolded at Maple Leaf’s meat packing plant in Brantford, Ont., when an apprentice millwright from a third-party company was dispatched to investigate malfunctions in two process fans in a freezer. The worker, attempting to examine the fans for obstructions that prompted the repair call, suffered critical injuries due to the fans operating at full speed, as outlined in a news release from the Ontario government.
In an interview with the Canadian Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development, the worker revealed a lack of knowledge on properly locking out the fan before commencing work. Additionally, a broken secondary electrical panel was discovered, rendering it impossible to disable the fan even if the worker knew the correct procedure. Consequently, the company was cited for violating worker safety regulations.
Maple Leaf pleaded guilty in Provincial Offences Court in October and received the C$170,000 fine from Justice of the Peace Robert Munro, along with a 25% surcharge as mandated by Canada’s Provincial Offenses Act. This surcharge will contribute to a program supporting victims of crime.
As of now, Maple Leaf Foods, headquartered in Mississauga, Ont., has not made any public statements regarding the guilty plea or the imposed fine.
