Nova Scotia’s Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration says it has found no safety violations after investigating the death of a Walmart employee who was found inside an oven in a Halifax store in October 2024.
The department says it has concluded its investigation into workplace conditions at the Walmart on Mumford Road and the bakery oven involved in the incident.
Investigators determined the oven was working properly at the time and they couldn’t identify any safety violations that would have contributed to the woman’s death. The department says it found “no broader safety concerns” associated with the oven.
“Our thoughts remain with the worker’s family, friends and co-workers as they continue to cope with this tragic loss,” said Labour, Skills and Immigration Minister Nolan Young in a statement on Friday.
“Our responsibility is to understand what happened, determine whether safety requirements were met and use those findings to support future prevention efforts.”
Police ruled out foul play
Halifax Regional Police responded to a sudden death at the Walmart on Mumford Road on Oct. 19, 2024.
Police confirmed the 19-year-old female employee was found dead inside a large walk-in oven in the bakery department but released few other details about the case.
In November 2024, police said the woman’s death was not believed to be suspicious, and there was no evidence of foul play. They refused to release any additional details about the investigation, including how the woman died, how she ended up inside the oven, or how they came to their conclusion that her death wasn’t suspicious.
“We do not believe anyone else was involved in the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death. The Department of Labour and the Medical Examiner Service are continuing their work but we do not believe the death to be suspicious,” said Halifax Regional Police Const. Martin Cromwell on Nov. 18, 2024.
“We acknowledge the public’s interest in this case and that there are questions that may never have answers.”
The labour department took over the investigation at that point.
Woman’s mother found her
The Maritime Sikh Society identified the woman as Gursimran Kaur. According to the society, Kaur and her mother moved to Halifax about three years ago and both worked at the Walmart.
At the time, the society said Kaur’s mother became concerned that night when she hadn’t seen her daughter for over an hour. She tried to reach her by phone, but she wasn’t answering, so she started searching the store for her. The society said the mother eventually found her daughter inside the walk-in oven.
A spokesperson for Walmart Canada told CTV News in the fall of 2024 the oven would be removed from the store, but that “removing the oven had always been part of the standard remodel program” the company was implementing across the country.
The Mumford Road Walmart was closed for several months for renovation work after the woman’s death. It reopened in February 2025.
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