Farm Boy fined $90,000 after worker falls through roof at warehouse

A Farm Boy store in Oakville, Ont. Photo: Farm Boy

Grocery chain Farm Boy has been fined $90,000 after one of its workers fell through the roof at a warehouse facility in Orleans, Ont.

Two workers employed were dismantling a walk-in cooler at the warehouse on June 1, 2021, just outside of Ottawa, when the incident happened.

One of the workers used a scissor lift elevated work platform to step on the roof of the cooler to unscrew metal plates attached to the roof panels. The roof collapsed, causing the worker, who was not wearing fall protection, to fall more than 10 feet to the concrete floor below. The worker sustained injuries as a result.

Following a guilty plea in the Ontario Court of Justice, East Region, Farm Boy Company Inc. was fined $90,000. The court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.