Nova Scotia says it has concluded an “extensive” workplace safety investigation into the death of a Halifax Walmart worker who died in a bakery oven 16 months ago and found no safety violations.
The 19-year-old woman, who was identified by her family and the local Sikh community as Gursimran Kaur, was killed in October 2024 by the incident at the Mumford Road store.
The Maritime Sikh Society told Global News at the time it was Kaur’s mother, who also worked at the store, who found her body in the walk-in oven. The pair had moved to Canada from the U.K. and were originally from India.
“The Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration’s safety branch conducted an extensive investigation into workplace conditions and the bakery oven involved in the incident,” the province said in a Friday release.
“Investigators determined the oven was in proper working order at the time of the incident, and no safety violations were identified that could have contributed to the worker’s death. The Department also found no broader safety concerns associated with the type of oven.”
Balbir Singh, the Maritime Sikh Society’s secretary and spokesperson for Kaur’s family, said news of the investigation’s finding has offered no closure.
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“They want to know what happened with Gursimran. That’s the main question they want know. I mean it can’t be that nothing happened with her. She died,” he said.
He said her family is “still devastated” and searching for answers.
“They are going through the kind of situation that no family should ever dream of,” he added.
“The same question arises again and again — that we need clear cut (answers) of what happened.”
Sudden death call
First responders were called to the store at around 9:30 p.m. Oct. 19, 2024 for a report of a sudden death. Shoppers and staff were asked to leave the building, and the store was closed.
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A stop-work order was immediately initiated for the the bakery area of the store and for “a piece of equipment.” That order was lifted by the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration on Oct. 28, 2024.
A month after Kaur’s death, Halifax Regional Police said her death was not suspicious and there was “no evidence of foul play.”
The store didn’t re-open until early February after a renovation, which had previously been planned.
A spokesperson for Walmart said the bakery area had been moved to the front of the Halifax store, as part of a renovation program at Walmart stores across the country, and the oven had been replaced.
In a statement, Labour Minister Nolan Young said Friday that the province’s thoughts remain with the worker’s family, friends and co-workers.
“Our responsibility is to understand what happened, determine whether safety requirements were met and use those findings to support future prevention efforts,” he added.
So many pray they keep this investigation open. The oven wasn’t at fault so there’s only the mother.
Some people say this beautiful child was with child ,that her boyfriend was a white young man……..gossip at its best.
If there were any truth in that, we all know what the Fathers actions are .