Ontario Federation of Labour Calls for Review of Employment Laws After Temp Worker Deaths

A young woman was killed after a conveyor belt caught her clothing on September 2, 2016, at Fiera Foods, in Toronto’s West End. She was sent to work at the Fiera plant by a temp agency and had been on the job for less than three weeks before she was killed. This marks the third temp worker death at this factory. This week Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) President, Chris Buckley wrote to the Toronto Police asking for a criminal investigation into the most recent death. In 2004 the Canadian Criminal Code was amended by Bill C-45 and now provides special criminal negligence provisions for companies that disregard the health and safety of workers. The intent of the legislation is to hold employers criminally liable for the deaths of workers. The OFL has claimed that Ontario’s outdated labour laws are failing to protect workers. In response, the Ontario government is currently reviewing the province’s employment laws—allowing an opportunity to create the employment laws Ontario workers need. Read more here.