Critical Injury at Vaughan Facility Results in $80,000 Fine for British Columbia-based Company

Convicted: Give and Go Prepared Foods Corp., a British Columbia registered corporation with Ontario offices at 5 Marmac Drive, Suite 200, Etobicoke, ON, M9W 1E7, is a company that manufactures baked goods and supplies retailers and the foodservice industry.

Location of Workplace: The company’s production facility at 7245 Highway 50, Vaughan, ON L4H 3N5.

Description of Offence: A worker was injured after not being made aware of workplace hazards.

Date of Offence: August 28, 2019.

Date of Conviction: November 26, 2021.

Penalty Imposed:

• Following a guilty plea in the Provincial Offences Court in Newmarket, Give and Go Prepared Foods Corp. was fined $80,000 by Justice of the Peace Robbie Levita; Crown Counsel was Mike Nicol.
• The court also imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

Background:

• A worker was standing at a conveyor line sliding cartons off a belt and pushing them into a machine.
• While the worker was moving a tray from the conveyor to an overflow table, the worker’s hand was pulled into the pinch-point and sustained injuries.
• A Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development investigation revealed that at the time the worker was injured, the worker had not been made aware of hazards associated with the machine being operated.
• Accordingly, the employer committed the offence of failing to comply with section 25(2)(d) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.