CAMP BERNARD, Que.
— A garment dye factory in Canada is closing, after an eight-year investigation into the deaths of workers.
The Ontario government says the garment dye company, D’Aubigny, shut its facility at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Campbell-Conestoga-Mulgrave, Ont., on Friday.
The province says D’Acubignies factories, which are run by three companies, have been at risk of serious health and safety violations.
In an online statement, the Ontario government said it is “deeply concerned” about the deaths at the St. Mary’s Hospital facility, and called for “urgent safety measures” and tighter regulations for the companies that run the factories.
The government also said it has launched an investigation into whether D’Aloys operations are compliant with the Canadian Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, or the CEHERS, which apply to factories.
The company says it has taken “steps to ensure that it is compliant with all applicable Canadian and provincial regulations and laws, and is taking appropriate action to resolve any concerns that may arise from the circumstances of the incident.”
The closure comes as the Ontario provincial government, Ontario’s health minister and the city of Ottawa are seeking to close more than 100 garment factories in the province, with some of the closures expected to be temporary.
The closures are part of the provincial government’s effort to combat the spread of COTS, or chronic fatigue syndrome, a disease caused by long-term, repetitive, and excessive work.