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Owner and supervisor of Filsinger's Organic Foods & Orchards agree to a plea bargain after the death of two migrant workers in 2010.
Ottawa (31 Jan 2012) - On Sept. 10, 2010 while working at Filsinger's Organic Foods & Orchards in Ayton, Ontario, two Jamaican migrant workers, Paul Roach, 44, and Ralston White, 36, died after exposure to toxic fumes.
The trial was scheduled to last for three or four days earlier this month, but was set aside by a plea bargain.
In the wake of an Ontario Ministry of Labour investigation into the fatalities, Debra Ann Becker, Shaun Ronald Becker, Cory Richard Becker, the operators of the farm, and Brandon Weber, a supervisor were to stand trial starting Jan. 11, facing multiple charges under Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) including failing to provide training, equipment and a rescue plan for workers in a dangerous confined space like the vinegar vat at the farm.
Instead, all charges were dropped against the operators and a deal was struck. Weber, the supervisor, pleaded guilty to just one charge and fined $22,500.
Seven of the eight charges dropped against all of the accused involved OHSA regulations regarding safety in enclosed spaces, like the vat at the Filsinger farm. While OHSA protections were extended to farm workers in 2006, the Ministry of Labour never attached the specific regulations regarding closed spaces.
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