Guelph Dairy Processor Fined $80,000 Following Worker Fall

Convicted: Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Limited, 5200 Orbitor Drive, Mississauga, Ontario, a dairy processing company.

Location of Workplace: 21 and 23 Speedvale Avenue West, Guelph, Ontario.

Description of Offence: A worker was injured after falling from the top of a milk transport truck while collecting milk samples. Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Limited failed, as an employer, to provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker with respect to the safe setup and operation of a hatch access system (gantry), contrary to section 25(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Date of Offence: March 23, 2025

Date of Conviction: September 18, 2026

Penalty Imposed:

• Following a guilty plea in the Provincial Offences Court in Guelph, Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Limited was fined $80,000 by Justice of the Peace Michael Cuthbertson. The Crown Counsel was Judy L. Chan.
• 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:

• Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Limited operates a dairy processing plant in Guelph.
• Milk delivered to the plant is sampled by milk receivers before being unloaded. Samples are collected from hatches located on top of milk transport trucks.
• Workers access the hatches using an elevated hatch access system, known as a gantry, which is equipped with steps and guardrails to help prevent falls.
• To shorten the sampling process, some workers would step onto the top of the truck and walk to the second sampling hatch rather than repositioning the gantry.
• On March 23, 2025, a milk receiver stepped from the gantry onto the top of a truck and was no longer protected by the guardrail system.
• The worker slipped on the wet surface of the truck and fell to the floor below.
• A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigation found that the employer failed to provide adequate information, instruction and supervision regarding the safe setup and operation of the gantry.