Tories grilled on latest workplace death

Fourth worker since 1999 to die at plant affiliated with Fiera Foods

The recent death of another temp worker at a company affiliated with Fiera Foods highlights the cost of the Progressive Conservative government’s proposed rollback of worker protections, opposition critics argued at Queen’s Park on Monday.

“This is the fourth — the fourth — death of a worker at Fiera Foods’ businesses,” NDP labour critic Wayne Gates said during question period. “A workplace death is a terrible cost. Four deaths, and someone should be in jail.”

On Thursday night at about 9:45 p.m., a man in his 40s who was working for Fiera Foods’ partner company, Upper Crust, on Canarctic Dr. in North York, died when he was pinned by a transport truck against the factory’s loading bay. The man’s identity has not been released, but he was employed by the temp agency OL & Partners. The Ministry of Labour is investigating the death.

Labour Minister Laurie Scott said she was “saddened” by the death and then accused the NDP of “politicizing” the tragedy.

Outside the legislature, Scott called the death “a terrible trag- edy,” but said she couldn’t comment while the ministry’s investigation was ongoing.

“Certainly, I know there’s the history there,” she said, referring to the three previous temp worker deaths at Fiera Foods and its affiliated companies. “There have been other punishments given for the other cases. This is a new investigation that needs to take place in the proper manner.”

Fiera and its sister company, Marmora Freezing Corp., were fined $150,000 for the first two deaths at their facilities and $300,000 for the 2016 death of 23-year-old temp worker Amina Diaby.

A vigil organized by the Workers’ Action Centre was held Monday evening outside the Upper Crust plant where the worker died last week.

“It’s so sad because this is what happens when we don’t have rights and protections at work,” said Navi Aujla, who has worked through temp agencies and is now an organizer for the Fight for $15 Movement.

“Temp agency workers are so invisible in our workplaces,” added Deena Ladd of the Workers’ Action Centre, who called on the government to stop new legislation aimed at rolling back recent labour protections.

Thursday’s death is the fourth of a temp worker at Fiera Foods or one of its affiliated companies since 1999 and the second in little over two years. The company, which mass-produces bread products for fast-food chains and major grocery stores, was the subject of a 2017 undercover investigation by the Star, which found the company relied heavily on temp workers who received little safety training and were paid in cash at payday lenders.

Last week, the Progressive Conservative government introduced new legislation, Bill 47, that would roll back many of the labour protections enacted by the last government, including equal pay for equal work. The Ministry of Labour has not said whether new provisions around temp worker injuries will remain intact.

“The government is going backwards,” said John Fraser, the interim Liberal leader.