RD News | A Calgary-based oil and gas exploration service company has pleaded guilty to one count under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) code related to hazard assessment and control.

Artis Exploration Ltd. pleaded guilty in the Red Deer Court of Justice and was fined $114,000 in connection with a workplace injury. All remaining charges were withdrawn.

The incident in question occurred on 10 May 2024, on an oil battery site in Kneeland County when one worker was seriously injured in an explosion and fire.

The employer and the Crown have up to 30 days to appeal the conviction or penalty.

Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development | Following a guilty plea in the Provincial Offences Court in Ottawa, Above Water has been fined $75,000 and ordered to pay a 25% victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act after a worker was injured in an explosion while they were applying a flammable adhesive in a trench.

Above Water was contracted to perform foundation repair and window well system installation at a residential property in Ottawa.

On the day of the incident, 30 August 2023, a worker was applying Henry Blueskin Adhesive to a rear foundation wall. Henry Blueskin Adhesive is a flammable liquid that can produce ignitable vapours.

The worker was at the bottom of an un-shored trench that was approximately eight feet deep and three feet wide.

While they were applying the adhesive, an explosion occurred within the trench. The worker was injured.

A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigation determined that the flammable liquid was producing ignitable vapours in the trench while no atmospheric monitoring or ventilation was being used.

As a result, Above Water failed to ensure the work area was properly ventilated to prevent an explosive atmosphere from developing, contrary to section 46(1)(b) of Ontario Regulation 213/91 (Construction Projects) and section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Canadian Occupational Safety | Birchcliff Energy Ltd., an Alberta oil and gas company, must pay $312,500 after a worker died falling into a reservoir.

The employer pleaded guilty in the Grande Prairie Court of Justice to one count under Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act.

The charge was for failing to ensure a worker’s health and safety. All other charges against the company were withdrawn.

The court ordered a creative sentence, directing funds to safety initiatives instead of a standard fine. Both the company and the Crown have 30 days to appeal.

The charge stemmed from an incident on 10 October 2023, at a site west of Spirit River, Alberta.

A worker died after falling into a reservoir while collecting water samples, according to the government.

Of the total, $200,000 will go to Energy Safety Canada to develop training on managing fatality risks in surface water operations.

The remaining $112,500 will go to Saddle Hills County Protective Services for ice water rescue training and equipment.

Victim fine surcharges, which apply to fines paid to the Crown, do not apply to these creative-sentence payments.

CTV News | The company that owns a problematic apartment building in East York along with one of its directors has been fined following a conviction under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act.

Havcare Investments Inc., the registered owner of 500 Dawes Rd, along with Carolyn Krebs, one of its directors, were sentenced in Provincial Offences Court.

The court imposed a fine of $300,000 to Havcare Investments Inc. Krebs, meanwhile, must pay a fine of $20,000 plus a mandatory 25% victim fine surcharge.

Toronto Fire Services said these charges were brought forward following non-compliance with fire safety requirements.

In May 2026, Krebs, the building’s landlord, was sentenced to 15 days in jail by the Provincial Offences Court and ordered to pay a $120,000 fine as well as a mandatory 25% victim fine surcharge after failing to comply with fire safety requirements in regards to her residential property at 608 Dawes Rd., which is also in East York.

These consequences came following a conviction under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act.

At that time, Toronto Fire noted that her other building at 500 Dawes Rd. was also currently subject to ongoing enforcement action due to fire safety concerns.

CBC News | Qulliq Energy Corporation (QEC) has pleaded guilty to a charge under Nunavut’s Safety Act in connection with the 2024 death of electrician Noah Paniyuk, 58, in Naujaat.

The utility admitted it violated the section of the Safety Act that requires employers to ensure workplaces are safe. The Crown dropped eight other charges against QEC.

QEC said it will pay $240,000, plus a 15% victim surcharge, to the workers’ protection fund.

The company said it has improved safety procedures since Paniyuk’s death, including a new safety management system. QEC said it has also purchased more rescue hooks, which are used to pull injured workers away from live electrical equipment.

Government of Alberta | Two residential construction companies have been fined $250,000 related to a serious workplace injury.

Excel Management Limited Partnership and Benchmark Cribbing Inc., both pleaded guilty in the Calgary Court of Justice to one count each under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act.

Excel Management Limited Partnership, as prime contractor, pleaded guilty to one count for failing to ensure workers were adequately trained to perform work in a healthy and safe manner. Three other counts against Excel Management Limited Partnership, Excel G.P. Ltd., and Excel Homes Limited Partnership were withdrawn.

Benchmark Cribbing Inc., as an employer, pleaded guilty to one count for failure to ensure that racks used to store materials or equipment were placed on firm foundations that could support the load respectively. The Crown withdrew three other counts.

The Crown issued a stay of proceedings against a third defendant.

The charges stem from an incident that occurred at a new residential development in Calgary on 16 December 2023. Workers were installing forms for a foundation when a cage holding panels fell, striking and pinning one worker and causing serious injuries.

Both companies were ordered to pay $125,000, inclusive of the 20% victim fine surcharge, with the fine to Excel G.P Ltd., payable immediately and the fine to Benchmark Cribbing payable by 23 December 2026.

Government of Alberta | A building and interior materials supplier has been penalised $350,000 related to a workplace fatality.

LX Hausys Canada Inc., as an employer, pleaded guilty in the Calgary Court of Justice to one count under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act for failing to ensure the health and safety of a worker. The Crown withdrew 14 other counts.

The charges stem from an incident that occurred at the company’s Calgary warehouse on 19 September 2023.

A worker was helping move marble slabs with a forklift when the slabs dislodged, struck the worker and caused fatal injuries.

Under a creative sentence, the court ordered the company to pay $350,000 to the Manufacturers’ Health and Safety Association to develop portable virtual reality forklift simulators to enhance operator training. The association will also partner with Alberta Workforce Essential Skills to develop and provide workplace safety training for English language learners.

The company and the Crown have up to 30 days to appeal the conviction or penalty.

Government of Alberta | A forest products company has been penalised $355,000 related to a workplace fatality.

Weyerhaeuser Company Limited, as an employer, pleaded guilty in the Grande Prairie Court of Justice to one count under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act for failing to ensure the health and safety of a worker. The Crown withdrew 12 other counts.

The charges stem from an incident that occurred at a lumber mill near Grande Prairie on 18 November 2023.

A worker died after using a pike pole to clear an obstruction from a machine. The pole ejected from the machine and struck the worker.

Under a creative sentence, the court ordered the company to pay $355,000 to Northwestern Polytechnic to develop the Northern Industrial Safety Pathways Program. It will provide structured training and tuition support for new and inexperienced workers in the forestry, oil and gas, manufacturing, mining, and agriculture sectors.

The company and the Crown have up to 30 days to appeal the conviction or penalty.

Government of Canada | ArcelorMittal Exploitation Minière Canada s.e.n.c. (AMEM) has been sentenced by the Court of Québec to pay a fine of $100 million, after pleading guilty to 100 counts of violating the Fisheries Act.

AMEM was sentenced to pay $1 million per count. The total fine is the highest ever imposed in Canada under the Fisheries Act. 

The conviction relates to various deposits of deleterious substances that took place between May 2014 and May 2022. The amount of $99,999,900 will be directed to the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund and will support projects that have a positive impact on Canada’s natural environments.

In addition to the fine, the Court ordered AMEM to reimburse the cost of the investigation, an amount of nearly $250,000. The Court also ordered AMEM to produce a detailed action plan specifying, among other things, effluent management measures for the Mont-Wright and Fire Lake mining complexes, as well as measures connected to mine drainage at the Mont-Wright complex. The company must submit this plan to Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers by mid-February 2027.

The charges stem from several investigations launched by Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers. These charges relate to the deposits of deleterious substances by the Mont-Wright mining complex and the Fire Lake mine into several streams and lakes frequented by fish in the Fermont region of Quebec.

The investigations, which began in 2018, revealed that AMEM illegally deposited or permitted the deposit of deleterious substances into water frequented by fish or in any place where there was a risk of these substances entering such water, in violation of subsection 36(3) of the Fisheries Act. The incidents took place between May 2014 and May 2022. The substances involved are:

  • Low-pH effluents (acidic).
  • Effluents containing elevated concentrations of zinc, nickel, or suspended solids.
  • Effluents that are toxic to fish.

According to the investigations, these unauthorised deposits were related to several factors associated with the planning of activities, the effectiveness of mitigation measures, and the lack of robust effluent treatment systems, which led to discharges in several areas of the Mont-Wright and Fire Lake sites.

The waters in which there were deposits or the risk of deposits are the Petite rivière Manicouagan and Lac Irène, and tributaries of Lac Saint-Ange. The Lac Saint-Ange sub-watershed is a significant tributary of the rivière Moisie, which is a proposed province aquatic reserve.

Canadian Occupational Safety | Clearwater Seafoods has been ordered to pay a total of $150,000 in connection with the 2024 workplace death of a crew member on one of its clam vessels in Nova Scotia.

The company was sentenced in Port Hawkesbury provincial court after pleading guilty to two charges under Nova Scotia’s Occupational Health and Safety Act arising from the death of 36‑year‑old worker Scott Dicks.

Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) previously reported that Dicks, of Grand Bank, N.L., died in February 2024 while working on the clam-harvesting vessel Anne Risley during a maintenance refit in the port of Mulgrave, N.S.

COS also reported that Clearwater pleaded guilty in March 2026 to two of five provincial safety charges laid under the Act.

An agreed statement of facts, presented at sentencing, said Dicks was electrocuted after coming into contact with a 440‑volt industrial space heater on board the vessel. The heater was being used during the refit while the Anne Risley was docked.

The court heard that the heater was originally equipped with a five‑prong plug compatible with outlets in the engine room. At some point before the incident, an employee cut off that plug and replaced it with a four‑prong plug so the heater could be used on a different circuit elsewhere on the vessel.

The modification allowed the unit to be powered from another outlet but left it improperly wired and created a fatal electrical hazard, according to evidence outlined in court. Dicks was in the cook room with three other workers when he came into contact with the heater and was fatally electrocuted.

Under a joint submission accepted by the court, the $150,000 penalty includes a $70,000 fine and a $10,500 victim surcharge. Clearwater must also pay $19,500 to a provincial workplace health and safety education trust and fund an independent safety review of its operations at a cost of $50,000.

The court was told that Clearwater operates 15 vessels and six processing plants in several countries, employs more than 1,000 workers in Canada and recorded more than $575 million in revenue in 2024. These figures were entered into the record to provide context for the size and capacity of the employer facing the sentence.

Court records show Clearwater admitted it failed to properly install, maintain or use the industrial space heater, and failed to take every precaution in its use, including providing adequate training, instruction and supervision for workers. Those admissions formed the basis of the two charges to which the company pleaded guilty, COS previously reported.

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