The Worker's Safety and Compensation Commission has forced the removal of Christmas displays in two Yellowknife grocery stores this week.

The arrangement at Trevor's Your Independent Grocer featured Santa Claus and Christmas tree designs made out of stacked cartons of canned soft drinks.

The commission found the display created safety issues and a safety officer asked the store owner to remove the display.

Another also spoke to managers at the Co-op about a similar set-up.

Steve Moss, a vice-president of prevention with the Workers Safety and Compensation Commission of the N.W.T., says the concern was that activity could cause the displays to collapse.

"It's an active display, it is items that are for sale," he said. "It's ever-changing, ever-evolving as people come up and take part of it away.

"The concern was it was high enough, and heavy enough, that if it did topple that it could hurt people."

Moss says they would allow better supported displays or ones that are roped off so people can't get near the product.

Both stores removed the displays.

They declined to comment, except to say that they've often had displays like these their stores and that they're standard across the country.

This was the first time the WSCC received a complaint about them from the public.