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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