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239Balancing
Risk and Reward in the Time of COVID-19
being fearful of being fired if they refused to work because they felt
unsafe.21 High River rapidly became a COVID-19 hot spot.22 The High
River plant was shut down on April 20 for two weeks but by then the
infection rate among employees had surpassed 50% and two more
deaths were connected to the plant.23 The plant reopened on May 4,
but lingering safety concerns remain and Alberta Health and Safety
is investigating.24 Outbreaks among Cargill employees have also been
reported at its plants in Chambly25 and Guelph.26
It is too early to say if Cargill’s handling of the COVID-19 risk
will lead to some form of accountability. Since its shares are not pub-
licly traded, Cargill is shielded from stock market discipline and is
not subject to the obligation to disclose material information, such as
corrective measures and investments in safety, to investors. Though
it operates in a highly regulated industry and could face regulatory
or criminal liability, investigations take time and are not guaranteed
to lead to charges. And, while Cargill may seem like an extreme case
linked to an industry with pre-existing safety problems and a vulner-
able workforce of foreign workers,27 there are examples of companies
Mail (2 May 2020), online: <www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-
how-cargill-became-the-site-of-canadas-largest-single-outbreak-of/>.
21. Ibid.
22. James Keller & Christine Dobby, “Hundreds of Alberta Infections Linked
to Meat-Processing Plant”, The Globe and Mail (19 April 2020), online: <www.
theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-covid-19-outbreak-in-high-
river-linked-to-infections-at-nearby/>.
23. Carrie Tait, “Cargill Employee Dies of COVID-19 after Month-Long Hospital-
ization”, The Globe and Mail (12 May 2020), online: <www.theglobeandmail.
com/canada/alberta/article-cargill-employee-dies-of-covid-19-after-month-long-
hospitalization/>.
24. Joel Dryden, “Safety Investigation of COVID-19 in Cargill slaughterhouse Didn’t
Include Worker Representation, OHS Finds”, CBC News (9 May 2020), online:
<www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/cargill-michael-hughes-ohs-occupational-
health-and-safety-1.5562931>.
25. Morgan Lowrie, “Cargill Meat-Packing Plant Closes in Montreal after 64 Workers
Test Positive for COVID-19”, Financial Post (11 May 2020), online: <business.
financialpost.com/commodities/agriculture/another-cargill-plant-closes-after-
covid-19-outbreak>.
26. Kenneth Armstrong, “Now Three Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 at Cargill
Plant in Guelph, Says Union”, Guelph Today (13 May 2020), online: <www.guel-
phtoday.com/coronavirus-covid-19-local-news/now-three-confirmed-cases-of-
covid-19-at-cargill-plant-in-guelph-says-union-2349157>.
27. Ian Mosby & Sarah Rotz, “As Meat Plants Shut Down, COVID-19 Reveals the
Extreme Concentration of Our Food Supply”, The Globe and Mail (29 April
2020), online: <www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-as-meat-plants-shut-
down-covid-19-reveals-the-extreme-concentration/>; Brown, Tait & Grant, supra
VULNERABLE
The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Title
- VULNERABLE
- Subtitle
- The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Authors
- Vanessa MacDonnell
- Jane Philpott
- Sophie Thériault
- Sridhar Venkatapuram
- Publisher
- Ottawa Press
- Date
- 2020
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 9780776636429
- Size
- 15.2 x 22.8 cm
- Pages
- 648
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- International