Canadian Occupational Safety | British Columbia employer Canfor Pulp Ltd. has been fined $489,104.10 after one of its workers was injured on the job.

WorkSafeBC attended the company’s worksite in response to an incident in which a worker was injured when an unguarded cylinder activated on a hydraulic pumping system (atmospheric diffuser).

The agency determined that the employer failed to ensure its machinery and equipment were fitted with adequate safeguards to protect workers from hazardous points of operation. This was classified as a high-risk violation.

According to the CCOHS Welding – Storage and Handling of Compressed Gas Cylinders fact sheet, employers must ensure the following measures are in place when compressed gases are used or stored:

  • Develop and implement a Safe Operating Procedure (SOP). This procedure must be created by a safety technical specialist and clearly define what constitutes a cylinder being “in storage” versus “in use”.
  • Provide required worker training, including WHMIS.
  • Maintain an accurate, up-to-date cylinder inventory.
  • Control maximum quantities of gases on site in accordance with legislative limits.
  • Avoid storing fuel gas cylinders in cabinets, whether enclosed or vented. If security is a concern, use a screened cage with at least two sides 80% or more open to ensure airflow.
  • Monitor storage area gas levels, particularly for flammable gases and oxygen.
  • Adhere to firewall specifications and separation distances between incompatible gases, as required by local regulations.
  • Secure compressed gas containers and systems against physical damage and tampering.
  • Select appropriate outdoor storage locations. Use a well-drained, non-combustible platform (e.g., concrete), avoid hydrocarbon-based asphalt for oxidizers, and avoid exposure to humidity.
  • Site storage areas away from vegetated zones. Maintain a clear area, commonly a minimum of six metres, from forest or brush, in line with local requirements.
  • Ensure indoor storage rooms meet code requirements, including building, electrical, and fire codes.
  • Display “No Smoking” signs in both indoor and outdoor storage areas.
  • Set and post maximum storage temperatures:
    • In use – less than 48.9 °C (120 °F).
    • General storage – less than 51.7 °C (125 °F).
  • Consider separate securing for each cylinder to prevent falling or toppling when neighbouring cylinders are removed.

Kelowna Capital News | WorkSafeBC has issued a fine to Axis Family Resources for what it said was deemed a “high risk” violation at a worksite in Williams Lake.

WorkSafeBC states the fine was issued for the amount of $467,496.80 in relation to asbestos at a residential social services facility.

It inspected the worksite to review the implementation of their exposure control plan after facility walls with identified asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) had been damaged and needed repairs.

WorkSafeBC said they issued a stop-work order as a result of what they found during their site visit.

As the owner of the building, the firm failed to ensure the asbestos abatement contractor held a valid licence and that all ACMs present in the workplace were identified with signs or labels, and the organisation failed to ensure the health and safety of workers at the site.

WorkSafeBC said these were repeated violations, and the firm failed to take the necessary precautions to protect workers before work to potentially disturb the ACMs went ahead.

According to WorkSafeBC, asbestos exposure is the number one killer of workers in the province and contributed to 32 work-related deaths in 2024.

WorkSafeBC requires mandatory training and licensing for asbestos abatement work.

CFJC Today | The Interior Health Authority has been hit with a nearly $800,000 penalty after WorkSafe BC found asbestos had been disturbed at a long-term care facility in Kamloops. The specific facility was not named by WorkSafe.

In its summary of the $783,068.26 penalty, WorkSafeBC says it had inspected the long-term care facility after hearing reports of asbestos-containing materials that had been disturbed. Installation work had taken place for telecommunications equipment, and a wall near an area used by staff had been drilled into, which had been identified as containing asbestos.

The penalty summary states WorkSafeBC found Interior Health (IH) failed to make sure people who had received reports of unsafe conditions investigated the situation and took corrective action without delay. This was found to be a repeated violation.

WorkSafeBC says IH also didn’t make sure that a qualified risk assessment was done before the work began. The health authority was also penalized for not implementing an adequate exposure control plan for controlling and handling asbestos.

The reasons for the expensive fine were all considered to be “high-risk violations,” according to WorkSafeBC’s summary.

Canadian Occupational Safety | Ontario-based Sofina Foods Inc has been fined $330,000 following the death of one of its workers in a workplace incident.

The incident occurred on 2 March 2023, when 32-year-old Samir Subedi, an Edmonton-based worker, went to check the temperature of a gas-fired smokehouse. The smokehouse had been loaded with meat the previous night, according to a report from The Canadian Press (CP).

Subedi, a superintendent at the workplace, became trapped inside the smokehouse.

It was reported that the smokehouse’s emergency handle, designed to open the door from the inside, was broken. In its place was a door stopper that had not been approved by the company’s engineering team.

A temperature probe in the smokehouse registered a reading of 92°C. A co-worker later found Subedi unconscious inside the smokehouse.

Sofina Foods pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the safety of the worker in Edmonton.

The company has also already paid $500,000 to Subedi’s family, before tax deductions, to help cover the mortgage on their home, according to reports.

Prosecutor Hendrik Kruger told the sentencing hearing that while the company had a comprehensive safety system in place, it failed to monitor compliance and provide proper training regarding the door mechanism.

The prosecutor also asked for 25 other charges against the company to be withdrawn.

Sofina Foods fully cooperated with the Occupational Health and Safety investigation and has since increased staffing in its engineering and health and safety departments following Subedi’s death, according to the report.

Canadian Occupational Safety | Ontario employer Alugard Ltd has been fined $100,000 after one of its workers was injured in the workplace.

Following a guilty plea in the Provincial Offences Court in Mississauga, the employer was also ordered to pay a 25% victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

The incident occurred on 3 October 2022, in Mississauga. On that day, a worker was troubleshooting a malfunctioning pro-line door jamb processing centre, which is used to fabricate aluminium into window jambs.

The machine was in automatic mode with its safety disabled and moving parts unblocked.

To fix the problem, the worker leaned into the cutting area of the machine and used compressed air to clear debris. This removed an obstruction from a sensor, triggering the machine to activate.

However, the machine’s carriage suddenly started to move, injuring the worker.

A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigation found that the employer failed to ensure proper lockout and blocking procedures were followed during maintenance. The employer also tampered with the machine’s safety device after the incident and failed to comply with ministry orders to submit a written notice of the incident, according to the Ontario government.

Ontario Newsroom | A worker was critically injured after Linamar Corporation failed to follow prescribed safety measures under section 45(a) of Ontario Regulation 851/90 and section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

An acting supervisor directed a worker to change a broach stick using a jib crane; the 460-lb stick fell and struck him, causing a critical injury.

Labour Ministry investigators found the crane’s clamp was not fully engaged, compromising safe handling.

Linamar pleaded guilty in Provincial Offences Court and was fined $350,000 plus a 25 % victim surcharge.

Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development | Janco Steel Ltd. was fined $200,000 after a worker was fatally struck by a forklift in April 2022.

A worker offloading a steel coil walked into the path of a moving forklift and was killed. The Ministry found the company failed to use a signaller when the operator’s view was obstructed.

Janco pleaded guilty in Hamilton’s Provincial Offences Court and paid the fine plus a 25 % victim surcharge.

Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety | Evraz Inc. NA Canada pleaded guilty in Regina Provincial Court to violating The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020.

The court fined the company $410,714.29 plus a $164,285.71 surcharge, totalling $575,000. One other charge was withdrawn.

The charges stemmed from a 4 December 2022 incident in Regina, Saskatchewan, when a worker suffered serious injuries inspecting sheet metal moving through a slitting machine.

Canadian Occupational Safety | Two Alberta companies have been fined a combined $550,000 after pleading guilty to safety legislation breaches in a 2022 explosion that killed two welders.

The incident on 12 November 2022 at a tank farm north of Edmonton claimed the lives of Greg Podulsky, 29, and Darcy Schwindt, 47.

Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd and Peace Pipefitting Inc each admitted a single count under Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.

  • Tamarack was ordered to pay $500,000, with most directed towards safety-awareness and prevention programmes through CAREERS: The Next Generation Foundation, Energy Safety Canada and Threads of Life.
  • Peace Pipefitting Inc. received a $50,000 fine, $30,000 of which will go to Threads of Life, and will undergo two years of enhanced regulatory supervision.
  • A third company is due for sentencing on 28 May 2025, and charges against a fourth were stayed in 2024.
Canadian Occupational Safety | A ski resort in British Columbia has been fined $78,369.61 following a serious workplace incident in which an employee was severely injured.

While the worker was installing signage in a parking lot using a utility vehicle, the employee accidentally reversed the vehicle over the edge of an unguarded slope at the ski resort, resulting in a rollover crash that caused serious injuries.

Following the incident, inspectors from WorkSafeBC determined that the ski resort failed to install curbs or guardrails at the parking lot’s edge, an essential safety feature required in areas where vehicles face the risk of running off elevated surfaces.

The safety authority also cited the lack of a rearview mirror on the utility vehicle and a failure to enforce seatbelt use among employees, both breaches of B.C.’s Occupational Health and Safety Regulation.

While WorkSafeBC did not disclose the date of the crash or the identity of the employee involved, a spokesperson said that the agency’s full investigation report is undergoing redaction and will eventually be available through the province’s Freedom of Information Office.

Penalties, the agency added, are based on the employer’s payroll, the seriousness of the infraction, and their compliance history.

Consolidated Login

Comprehensive Login