Carbon Dioxide-Related Injury Results in $500,000 Fine for Brampton Food Manufacturer

Convicted: Maple Lodge Farms Ltd., 8301 Winston Churchill Boulevard, Brampton, Ontario, a poultry processing and packaging company

Location of Workplace: 8301 Winston Churchill Boulevard, Brampton, Ontario

Description of Offence: A worker was injured following exposure to carbon dioxide in the workplace. Maple Lodge Farms Ltd. failed, as an employer, to have a carbon dioxide sensor and alarm system in place. This was contrary to sections 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act

Date of Offence: March 16, 2024

Date of Conviction: August 27, 2026

Penalty Imposed:

• Following a guilty plea in the Provincial Offences Court in Brampton, Maple Lodge Farms Ltd. was fined $500,000 by Justice of the Peace Damanpaul Dulai; Crown Counsel were Alicia Gordon-Fagan and Peter Gatti, law student.
• 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:

• Maple Lodge Farms Ltd. operates a poultry processing and packaging facility in Brampton.
• On March 16, 2024, a worker was in the facility's deli area when a hose carrying carbon dioxide ruptured. The hose was connected to a vacuum blender, which uses carbon dioxide to cool certain products during processing.
• The rupture allowed approximately 16,072 pounds of carbon dioxide to be released uncontrolled into the deli area.
• Following the release, the worker was critically injured by carbon dioxide exposure.
• A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigation found that:
  • There was no carbon dioxide sensor and alarm system to alert workers.
  • This was a failure to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker.
• As a result, the company failed to comply with section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
• Following the incident, the company installed a permanent carbon dioxide sensor in the area.