Canamera Foods appeared in a Winnipeg courtroom Dec. 17 on charges that the canola crushing company’s failure to follow Canada Labor Code standards resulted in an accident that claimed the lives of two employees last November.
David Schroeder, 55, of Horndean and Jim Friesen, 23, of Altona, suffocated in a rail tanker at Canamera’s Altona, Man. plant on Nov. 21, 1996. Friesen’s brother, Peter, 41, was injured but has since recovered.
The workers were preparing to load the tanker with canola oil, but the rail car was filled with nitrogen, which keeps canola oil fresh by pushing oxygen out.
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A hose fell into the tank and one man went in to retrieve it. When he did not come out, a second and then a third worker followed.
Jacques Movin, with Human Resources and Development Canada’s labor program, said an investigation of the incident resulted in 18 charges against the company surrounding its failure to follow safe working procedures.
Safety standards not followed
“The allegations are that the company failed to comply with standards under the Labor Code regulations which resulted in the accident back in November,” said Rob Maertens, the justice department lawyer prosecuting the case.
The matter was put over until Feb. 11 in Winnipeg to allow the company time to review the charges, he said.
Canamera will likely be asked to enter a plea at its next appearance, Maertens added.
Canamera Foods is 50 percent owned by Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and Manitoba Pool Elevators and 50 percent owned by Central Soya, a unit of private French company Eridania Begain-Say.
