PENETANGUISHENE, Ont. – Ontario’s Ministry of Labour has charged the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care in Penetanguishene with failing to protect its workers and operating an unsafe workplace. Three occupational health and safety charges in total were pressed against the facility on March 20, according to a press release from the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), which represents nearly 1,000 Waypoint employees through Local 329. The charges followed an incident from last April 5, when a patient attacked and injured four staff members, one of whom was stabbed in the back with a screwdriver (COHSN, April 26). Waypoint could be fined as much as $500,000 if convicted, the release added. “We welcome the charges,” Local 329 president Pete Sheehan said in a media statement, “but they won’t amount to much unless real, long-term solutions are found to ensure that employees and patients can move about freely inside the facility without fear of being harmed.” OPSEU offered a ten-point safety plan following the incident, including extra staffing and training, but claimed in the release that Waypoint had not implemented the plan. Facility representatives are scheduled to appear in court next April 6.