The Ministry of Labour says Fiera Foods on Marmora St. in North York did not do enough to make sure that a Muslim woman’s hijab was safe for her to work around machinery in the firm’s bakery. Fiera has been fined $300,000 for this failure in the September 2, 2016 death of Amina Diaby. The young temporary worker was found without vital signs, her headwear entangled under a guard covering the chain drive of a conveyor belt. Ms. Diaby had been hired to work at the plant through a temporary staffing agency and had been on the job for two weeks. The Ministry of Labour determined that Fiera had failed to ensure that a worker near a source of entanglement secured all loose clothing. It also noted that an emergency stop button was not accessible from the location of the entanglement. Fiera Foods pleaded guilty. It will also pay a 25 per cent “victim fine” surcharge ($75,000) as required by the Provincial Offences Act. In 2002, the bakery was fined $150,000 following in the death of a 17-year-old temporary worker.
