A 14-year-old girl suffered serious injuries Sept. 18 when she became trapped in a potato conveyor belt near Carberry, Man.
The RCMP reported the child was working at a potato farm when she attempted to cross over the moving conveyor.
She slipped and became trapped between the belt and the motor support bracket.
The girl remained in hospital last week, with injuries to her lower body, including broken bones.
The incident has not sparked a debate in Carberry on whether it’s appropriate to employ children for seasonal jobs at potato farms, said Marj Campbell, a councillor in the surrounding municipality of North Cypress.
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“I can’t imagine the community being upset about a 14-year-old girl working…. Lots of them (kids) do it,” Campbell said.
“It’s an unfortunate accident.”
During the fall, many people take seasonal jobs at potato farms in the Carberry area. When trucks arrive from the field, the potatoes are dumped into a storage bin. A conveyor moves the spuds to another bin and workers stand next to the belt, picking out rotten potatoes and foreign objects.
Campbell said an age restriction is probably a good idea.
“I would say 12 is the very, very least they should be…. Because of the machinery and the height of the machinery.”
Mike Waite, president of Safety Services Manitoba, an organization with the mission of creating a healthy and safe province, said it’s difficult to comment on this case.
He said the reality is that children work on farms in rural areas.
“It’s part of the family. It’s part of what they do. But it is, in essence, a workplace.”
Since the incident is under investigation, Joanna Guerra of Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health couldn’t comment on the specifics of the accident.
But the Manitoba Employment Standards Code prohibits employees under the age of 16 from working unless the employer has a child employment permit.
“There’s a whole process that goes with (getting the) permit,” Guerra said.
