Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development | Irving Consumer Products Ltd., has been fined $100,000 and ordered to pay a 25% victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act after a worker sustained critical injuries when two pulp bales tipped over from a wire-cutting table.
The employer failed to ensure that the bales were placed on the table so that they would not tip over as required by section 45(b) of Ontario Regulation 851 (Industrial Establishments Regulation), contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
On 13 September 2024, a worker employed through a temporary employment agency was operating a wire cutting machine at Irving Consumer Products Ltd.
A lift truck operator delivered a stack of four pulp bales and placed them on the stand of a wire-cutting table where the worker was located. While on the stand, the top two bales tipped over, critically injuring the worker.
A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigation found that workers hired after 2019 were not trained on a safety procedure that limited the wire-cutting table to two bales. As a result, workers routinely placed up to four bales on the table.
Following the incident, the company made several significant improvements including redesigning the work area and purchasing a new wire chopper.
