One Month After a Richmond Hill Worker’s Death, Questions Remain

Kamal Kumar was killed inside an industrial machine at Gamma Foundries on August 25. As the Ministry of Labour investigates, the tragedy also raises questions about workplace safeguards and the vulnerability of workers whose permits are tied to one employer.

By Staff Writer

One month ago, Kamal Kumar went to work at a Richmond Hill foundry and never returned home.

Kumar, a millwright at Gamma Foundries on Newkirk Road, was killed on August 25 when a large sand-mixing machine he had entered was activated. He left behind his wife, Anu Rani, their 11-year-old son, Kiyan, and his mother, whom he also helped support.

“He just gave happiness to everyone,” Rani told CP24 earlier this month. “I lost that man who is my whole life.”

The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development began investigating the death. As of the ministry’s last publicly reported statement, the investigation remained ongoing and no further information was available.

Strong Richmond Hill has contacted both the ministry and Gamma Foundries seeking an update. We have asked whether workplace orders were issued, whether investigators have determined if required safety procedures were followed, and what changes have been made since Kumar’s death. We will update this story if responses are received.

A preventable type of accident?

According to Kumar’s friend, Sam Sharma, Kumar entered the approximately two-storey machine while trying to obtain information about a replacement part for a contractor waiting nearby.

Professor Emeritus Eric Tucker, an occupational-health-and-safety expert at Toronto Metropolitan University, told CP24 that this type of accident has occurred in industrial workplaces for decades.

He pointed to “lockout” procedures, through which machinery is physically disconnected or secured so that it cannot be activated while someone is inside or working on it.

Ontario’s rules for industrial workplaces contain requirements governing the shutdown and lockout of machinery during maintenance and repair. However, the circumstances at Gamma Foundries—and whether every applicable procedure was followed—have not yet been determined publicly.

That distinction matters. The occurrence of a fatal accident does not, by itself, establish that the company or any individual violated the law. That is one of the questions the ministry’s investigation must answer.

Gamma Foundries president Ryan Bishop previously said the company was cooperating with investigators and bringing in an outside consulting company to determine whether additional technology or safeguards could prevent another tragedy.

“It’s a worst-case scenario. It’s weighed heavily on me,” Bishop told CP24.

Strong Richmond Hill has asked whether that independent review has been completed and whether any recommendations have been implemented.

A worker tied to one employer

The case also raises a broader and more sensitive question about the position of temporary foreign workers.

Sharma told CP24 that Kumar came from India on a work permit tied to his employment at Gamma Foundries. In Sharma’s view, that status may have placed additional pressure on his friend to meet demands at work, even when tired.

There has been no public finding that Kumar was ordered to enter the machine, that he considered the work unsafe, or that his immigration status contributed to the accident. Sharma’s concern should therefore not be treated as an established explanation for Kumar’s death.

But it deserves examination.

An employer-specific work permit generally limits its holder to working for the employer named on the permit. Although foreign workers have the same workplace protections as other workers—and Ontario workers generally have the right to refuse work they believe is dangerous—leaving an employer can be more complicated when the worker’s authorization to work is connected to that job.

The federal government offers open work permits to some employer-specific permit holders who are experiencing or at risk of workplace abuse. The existence of that program is itself an acknowledgement that workers tied to one employer can face particular vulnerabilities.

The Ministry of Labour should therefore consider not only the mechanical and procedural events that preceded Kumar’s death, but also the full working environment surrounding it. That does not presume wrongdoing by Gamma Foundries. It recognizes that a complete investigation should examine equipment, training, supervision, workplace culture and whether workers could raise safety concerns without fear.

The questions that remain

A month after Kumar’s death, the public still does not know:

• whether the machine was properly locked out before he entered it;
• how it became possible for the machine to be activated;
• whether ministry inspectors issued orders after the accident;
• whether the machine has returned to service;
• what additional safeguards Gamma Foundries has introduced; or
• whether Kumar’s employment and immigration circumstances played any role in the events leading to his death.

Workplace investigations can take considerable time, and fairness requires waiting for evidence before assigning responsibility. But waiting should not mean forgetting.

Behind the official language of an “industrial accident” was a husband, father and son whose family expected him to come home.

One month later, Kamal Kumar’s death deserves more than a passing headline. His family—and every person who enters dangerous machinery as part of a day’s work—deserves a clear account of what happened and what will be done to prevent it from happening again.

Strong Richmond Hill has requested information from the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and Gamma Foundries. This article will be updated if responses are received.