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.

Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development | John Harris Concrete Ltd was fined $85,000 after a worker was fatally injured during tree-felling in October 2022.

A worker was clearing brush and felling trees at a drainage ditch on 23 October 2022 when a tree fatally struck him. Although trained in chainsaw use, he had not received tree-felling training.

John Harris Concrete Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to provide required training under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and was fined $85,000.

Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development | Siltech Corporation was fined $90,000 after a September 2021 explosion killed one worker and injured another.

On 8 September 2021, workers transferring flammable liquid in unbonded plastic pumps and pails caused an explosion. Though static electricity was not proven, Siltech failed to bond and ground containers as required, breaching Occupational Health and Safety Act regulations.

The company pleaded guilty and was fined $90,000.

Canadian Occupational Safety | Metals and mining corporation Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. has been fined a total of $710,488.79 after two workers were hurt at the company’s facility.

Both incidents happened at the firm’s smelter worksite in Kitimat. WorkSafeBC responded to both incidents.

In the first incident, a subcontracted worker received an electrical shock injury from an energised conductor on an electrical power distribution system. WorkSafeBC found that there were inadequate controls in place to warn workers of and protect them from the electrical hazard.

In the second incident, a subcontracted worker was injured when they made contact with a rotary valve on a dust collector. Rio Tinto also failed to ensure machinery was effectively safeguarded, and to ensure no work was done until the machinery was locked. These were all high-risk violations.

Times Colonist | An Esquimalt-based company was fined over $61,000 and hit with a stop-work order by WorkSafeBC after a “high-risk and repeated violation” involving asbestos during demolition of a Victoria home.

Van Isle Hazmat Inc. failed to prevent spread of asbestos dust, handle asbestos per procedures, or provide workers with proper information, training, and supervision. The stop-work order was lifted after compliance improvements.

WorkSafeBC fined the British Columbia government $783,068.26 for worker safety violations after untrained Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure staff directed traffic near the Shambhala Music Festival in July 2024.

MoTI employees took over traffic control without qualifications or safety equipment. The ministry failed to provide proper training and supervision. The fine is under review by the ministry.

Excel Projects Ltd (Alberta) was fined $350,000 after sending an injured worker to hospital when equipment activated unexpectedly on 5 March 2022. Under a creative sentence, $225,000 funds a heavy equipment operator scholarship at Olds College, $120,000 at Portage College, plus a $5,000 fine (incl. surcharge). Appeals due in 30 days.

Legislative changes in Canada raise workplace harassment standards. Quebec’s Bill 42 mandates detailed psychological harassment policies. Saskatchewan’s Bill 91 requires violence prevention and counselling. Nova Scotia’s Bill 464 broadens safety to psychological health by September 2025. Ontario’s Bill 190 expands harassment to virtual interactions. Employers should revise policies, train staff, and diligently investigate incidents.

Following a guilty plea in the Provincial Offences Court in Woodstock, Saputo Products Laitiers Canada S.E.N.C./Saputo Dairy Products Canada GP has been fined $79,500 and ordered to pay a 25% victim fine surcharge after a June 2023 incident in which a worker was critically injured while cleaning waste cheese from a conveyor drive roller groove.

On 4 June 2023, guards preventing access to in-running nip hazards were removed for cleaning, and the worker was injured by the running conveyor.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found the injury would not have occurred had a guard been in place, as required by section 25 of the Regulation for Industrial Establishments and section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

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