Company fined $10,000 in E. coli outbreak at Calgary daycares in 2023

A commercial kitchen company at the centre of a massive E. coli outbreak at Calgary daycares was fined $10,000 Tuesday, with parents of some of the hundreds of children who fell ill saying it wasn't enough.

Fueling Minds Inc., which provided snacks and meals to children at several daycares, pleaded guilty in April to four offences relating to the company's failure to have a catering licence.

The company faced a maximum $40,000 fine, but lawyers made a joint submission recommending $10,000.

Justice Mathieu St. Germain agreed. He said the higher fine would have been appropriate if there had been evidence the outbreak was linked to or caused by the company's offences.

"However, that nexus for connection is not in the facts before me. I'm not entitled to start drawing such inferences or speculating outside of evidence," the judge said.

About 448 people were infected with E. coli, including 39 children and one adult who were hospitalized, in the fall of 2023.

A report by AHS released last year said the outbreak was likely tied to meat loaf but that it might never be determined how the bacteria got there.

Outside court, mothers of some of the infected children expressed disappointment with the fine, at times speaking through tears.

Whitney Mercer said her three children fell ill, and it was a "living nightmare."

"Every single one of them was sick. Just devoid of colour. Blood in their bowel movements, vomiting uncontrollably," Mercer said.

"My daughter kept passing out from the pain. Her body would just go limp. We're really happy to not be in it anymore."

Sarah MacDonald said her son was hospitalized and diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, which impacted his kidneys to the point that he will have to be monitored for the rest of his life.

MacDonald said the fine was too small and won't deter future companies from operating without proper licences.

"It would cost more to send my child to (Fueling Brains Academy daycare) for one year than what they paid in fines today," she said.

"I think that when you look at profit margins versus the fine, this is not motivating."

An agreed statement of facts presented in court says that during the time Fueling Minds had agreements with four other daycares, from October 2022 and August 2023, it operated without a food services business licence.

In 2021, a company administrator sent an email to Alberta Health Services asking what steps were required to operate its food service but did not receive a response, says the document. 

"It has not been established that Fueling Minds' failure to obtain a food services business licence caused the incident," it says.

After the outbreak, the province launched a third-party review, which made recommendations to better protect the health and safety of children in licensed child-care facilities.

Steve Major, a lawyer for Fueling Minds, said the fine had been negotiated over several months, and he sympathizes with the parents of children who were infected.

"We have kids ourselves. Our clients have kids. And we are empathetic to all the families that suffered," Major said.

A proposed class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of a child who contracted E. coli during the outbreak is ongoing against Fueling Brains Academy and other daycares where children fell ill.

Major said the judge in the bylaw case had a limited mandate and the lawsuit might offer the best arena for families to get answers. He and his law firm are not involved in the claim.

"The families, they want answers, and hopefully they will get those answers in that proceeding," he said. 

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh