Employer failed to ‘ensure that only trained operators are required or permitted to operate powered mobile equipment’
Agrifoods International Cooperative Ltd. has been fined $100,000 for failing to ensure that only trained operators were permitted to run powered mobile equipment, after a wash bay attendant in Saskatoon was seriously injured.
The company pleaded guilty in Saskatoon Provincial Court on Sept. 29, 2026, to one violation of The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020, according to a Government of Saskatchewan news release on the Agrifoods fine issued Oct. 9.
According to the province, the worker was “pinched between a semi tractor and a milk tanker trailer while working as a wash bay attendant.”
Charge, plea and penalty
Agrifoods was charged with contravening subsection 11-2(2) of the regulations. The province described the offence as “being an employer, fail to ensure that only trained operators are required or permitted to operate powered mobile equipment, resulting in a serious injury of a worker.”
Two additional charges were withdrawn. The release did not identify them.
The court imposed a fine of $71,428.57, along with a victim fine surcharge of $28,571.43, for a total penalty of $100,000.
Under provincial law, the surcharge is added automatically to the penalty for a provincial offence and funds services for victims of crime, according to the Government of Saskatchewan.
The incident
The charges stem from an incident on Nov. 20, 2023, in Saskatoon. The guilty plea was entered nearly three years later.
The release did not identify the worker, describe the injuries or say who was operating the equipment.
Agrifoods International Cooperative’s brands include Organic Meadow, Earth’s Own and Happy Planet, and the co-operative operates transport locations in the three Prairie provinces, according to The Western Producer.
The Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety said in its release that it “works with employers and workers to eliminate workplace injuries and illnesses through education, intervention and enforcement.”
Provincial training requirements
The province’s construction and industrial safety guidance on forklifts and mobile equipment states that the 2020 regulations set standards for operating forklifts and other mobile equipment, and that The Saskatchewan Employment Act requires employers to give workers adequate training on all matters necessary to protect their health and safety at work.
Employers must also provide related training, instruction and competent supervision, according to the province. During training, supervisors must ensure that operators can demonstrate the knowledge and skills needed to run their equipment safely.
WorkSafe Saskatchewan’s prevention guidance on powered mobile equipment defines the equipment as any self-propelling machine that helps move or transport an employer’s materials, such as forklifts, pallet jacks, loaders and agricultural tractors. It states that workers must be trained to operate such equipment safely before using it on the job.
Other powered mobile equipment prosecutions
The same subsection, 11-2(2), was at issue when a Regina employer was fined $55,000 after a worker was seriously injured operating a forklift. Brandt Industries Canada Ltd. was found guilty and sentenced on Oct. 27, 2025, for the Sept. 2, 2021, incident. The company has appealed the conviction, and the Crown has filed its own appeal, CTV News reported in June.
In July 2025, the province reported that Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan was fined $120,000 after a worker was struck by a crane rail being dragged along the ground by a telehandler near Allan on Dec. 9, 2022. The company pleaded guilty under section 11-13(1), which covers workers within range of a swinging load or part of powered mobile equipment.
Porcupine Corral Cleaning Ltd. was fined $85,000 in a case in which a worker was seriously injured while conducting repairs under a truck near Maple Creek in September 2021. It pleaded guilty under clause 3-1(c), which covers an employer’s duty to provide necessary information, instruction, training and supervision.
