Alberta meat-packing plant safe to reopen, health officials insist

So far, 908 of plant’s 2,000 workers have been infected by COVID-19

CALGARY – Concerns remain about the decision to resume operations at the Cargill meat-packing plant where more than 900 employees have been infected by the COVID-19 virus.

The High River facility is set to reopen Monday following a two-week shutdown, operating at one shift as it resumes production. Cargill said in a statement Wednesday it had the support of Alberta Health Services and Occupational Health and Safety to reopen.

So far, 908 of the plant’s 2,000 employees have been infected by COVID-19, of whom 631 have recovered. One person has died.

The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401, which represents the plant’s workers, has said it’s planning legal action in an attempt to extend the closure, which began April 20.

Spokesman Michael Hughes said many questions remain unanswered, despite public assurances from Alberta’s health-care authorities that the plant is safe to reopen.

“These are the same authorities that said the plant was safe when there were 38 cases, and that has since ballooned,” said Hughes.

“From our vantage point, we’ve seen no shift in perspective or methodology. Those same folks held a telephone town hall right before people basically didn’t show up to work and told people, including ministers from the government of Alberta . . . the plant was safe.”

The union had previously called for a 14-day shutdown, but Hughes said that isn’t sufficient. He said Cargill and the province haven’t done enough to ensure workers feel safe enough to return, or that another outbreak could be prevented.

The province’s Occupational Health and Safety branch investigates serious work site incidents, including fatalities, and has the authority to charge parties that violate provincial legislation.

A spokeswoman for Labour and Immigration Minister Jason Copping said Thursday that OHS was still investigating circumstances at the Cargill plant that led to the outbreak, including any possible non-compliance with health and safety legislation that may have caused so many workers to be infected.

“AHS and OHS officials will continue to monitor and ensure that Cargill is implementing appropriate measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect workers,” said Adrienne South.

“OHS takes workplace safety seriously and will examine any concerns that are raised through the complaints process going forward. The investigations are ongoing and once they have been completed, the Occupational Health and Safety investigation report will be made public. Complex investigations can take a significant amount of time to complete.”

She added that OHS and AHS inspectors were on site this week and will return to the Cargill plant on Monday.

Cargill said it has installed barriers, provided protective equipment to staff and has reduced the potential for close interactions between employees at its site.

High River Mayor Craig Snodgrass said in a Facebook live video on Thursday the town of about 14,000 people was “trending in the right direction,” in handling the pandemic.