Brockville, Ont.-Growmark Inc., a Mississauga-based inter-regional co-op that provides fertilizer to local farming co-ops, pleaded guilty and was fined $80,000 in the Ontario Court of Justice June 17 in connection with an injury to a worker Nov. 23, 2006. Justice of the Peace Luc Guindon heard statements that two workers and a supervisor were employed by Growmark at a fertilizer storage facility in Kemptville. It had been leased to another co-op for a number of years, and its physical condition had deteriorated. Growmark made some efforts to address the equipment and structural deterioration when it took over the facility in the fall of 2005, but hazardous conditions remained. On the day of the incident, a load of urea arrived and was being moved into a silo via a conveying system. A worker who noticed raw material spilling out of the top of the silo climbed stairs and ladders and walked along a catwalk adjacent to the conveyor to investigate. The worker tripped on an object on the catwalk, causing him to fall onto the moving conveyor, which resulted in an arm being pulled into an in-running nip point. The worker suffered facial and soft tissue arm injuries. A Ministry of Labor investigation found that the condition of the catwalk was not in compliance with section 11(a)(ii) of Ontario Regulation 851/90, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25 percent victim fine surcharge on the total, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
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