The Edmonton food processing industry faced a sobering reminder of workplace safety’s critical importance this week as Sofina Foods Inc. entered a guilty plea in provincial court regarding the tragic 2022 death of one of their employees.
Bruno Geremia, who served as Sofina’s chief financial officer, stood before Judge Melanie Hayes-Richards on Wednesday, acknowledging the company’s responsibility in the incident that claimed the life of a worker at their north Edmonton plant.
I’ve been covering Edmonton’s industrial sector for nearly six years now, and these cases always strike a particularly emotional chord. Behind every workplace incident statistic is a family forever changed, colleagues traumatized, and a community left questioning how such tragedies can be prevented.
The court heard that 25-year-old Cade New-Holland died while cleaning inside a smokehouse chamber at the company’s pork processing facility. What should have been a routine maintenance procedure turned deadly when, according to prosecutors, another worker unknowingly activated the smokehouse with New-Holland still inside.
Crown prosecutor Dayna Tkachuk detailed how the smokehouse began heating while the young man remained trapped inside. When emergency responders arrived, New-Holland was unconscious and suffering from severe heat-related injuries. Despite being rushed to hospital, he succumbed to those injuries.
“This case represents a fundamental breakdown in safety protocols that should have been firmly in place,” Tkachuk told the court, requesting a $500,000 fine for the food processing giant.
Walking through the courthouse corridors after the hearing, I couldn’t help but reflect on conversations I’ve had with workplace safety advocates across our city who consistently emphasize that most industrial accidents aren’t truly “accidents” at all, but preventable incidents resulting from procedural failures.
The company, which operates multiple food processing facilities across Canada, admitted to failing to ensure the health and safety of its worker. This admission carries significant weight in our community, where thousands of Edmontonians work in various industrial sectors.
Defence lawyer James Casey presented the company’s position, acknowledging the gravity of the situation while outlining Sofina’s response. Since the incident, the company has implemented new safety measures including enhanced lockout procedures and additional safety barriers to prevent similar tragedies.
“Sofina has taken full responsibility for what happened,” Casey explained, describing how the company has cooperated fully with investigators and worked to address safety gaps.
Outside the courthouse, I spoke with Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, who expressed frustration at what he describes as a pattern across industrial workplaces.
“We continue to see companies treating fines as simply a cost of doing business,” McGowan told me. “What we need is a fundamental shift in how workplace safety is prioritized and enforced across Alberta.”
The provincial court will announce the final penalty at a later date, with Judge Hayes-Richards reserving her decision on the fine amount.
For Edmonton’s tight-knit food processing community, this case serves as a heartbreaking reminder of what’s at stake when safety protocols fail. Industry experts from the Alberta Food Processors Association have emphasized that comprehensive safety training and rigorous enforcement of lockout-tagout procedures are essential in preventing similar incidents.
Last year, I toured several food processing facilities for a feature on workplace safety innovations. The most successful operations shared a common thread: safety wasn’t merely a regulatory checkbox but woven into every aspect of daily operations.
According to Alberta Occupational Health and Safety, the province recorded 50 workplace fatalities in 2022, with manufacturing sectors consistently representing a significant portion of serious incidents. Each statistic represents an individual whose life ended while simply trying to earn a living.
As our city continues to grow as a manufacturing and food processing hub, this case underscores the critical importance of not just having safety protocols on paper, but ensuring they’re rigorously followed on the production floor where lives depend on them.
The final court decision will likely set a precedent for how similar cases are handled in Alberta, potentially influencing workplace safety standards across our province’s industrial landscape.
For New-Holland’s family, colleagues, and friends, however, no fine amount can truly address their loss—a sobering reality that should motivate every Edmonton employer to examine their safety practices with renewed scrutiny.
