Winnipeg Company Cargill, Guilty & Fined $100,000 For Workplace Accident

Ontario takes the health and safety of every worker seriously 

Cargill Limited, an international company that provides food, agriculture, and risk management products and services based in Winnipeg, was convicted on July 7, 2022, and fined $100,000 for the injury of one of its workers. The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Kristine M. Diaz following a guilty plea at the provincial offense in court. 

On October 26, 2020, a heavy machine fell from a forklift onto a worker acting as a spotter, causing critical injuries for the said worker. This happened in London, Ontario, where two workers were working on moving the machine to its designated location. One worker was driving the forklift while the other was working as a spotter. Partway through the trip, a third worker (the worker injured in the accident) joined as a second spotter. 

Section 45(b) of the Ontario Regulation for Industrial Establishments requires materials, articles, or things to be transported in such a way that they do not tip, collapse, or fall. Cargill Limites violated Section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act by failing, as a conductor, to ensure that the measures and procedures required by Section 45(b) of Ontario Regulation 851/90 were carried out. 

Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) is Ontario’s legislation created for workplace health and safety with the goal of providing a legal framework for protecting workers from health and safety hazards on the job. It does this by: 

• setting out duties for all workplace parties and rights for workers to help establish a strong internal responsibility system (IRS) in the workplace.
• establishing measures and procedures for dealing with workplace hazards.
• providing for enforcement of the law where compliance has not been achieved voluntarily. 

Workplace safety is very important for every employee in any industry because all workers deserve to work in a safe and protected environment. Employers have a moral responsibility to protect their employees. Workplace health and safety procedures are essential for the well beings of employees and employers because human loss is immeasurable. A business and its workers thrive in a safe, healthy, respectful, and caring environment.