ESTEVAN, Sask. – An Edmonton-based mining firm has been fined for an incident in which an employee was injured by a six-metre fall at a worksite near Estevan. The accident occurred on Aug. 10, 2015, when a worker with Prairie Mines & Royalty ULC tripped on a footrest inside the cabin of a dragline excavator and fell to the ground, sustaining serious injuries, according to a news release from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety. The employer, which operates as Westmoreland Coal Company, later pleaded guilty in Estevan Provincial Court to failing to provide and maintain a work environment and system that ensured the health and safety of its employees as far as reasonably practicable. On July 10 of this year, the court ordered the company to pay $85,714.29, plus a surcharge of $34,285.71. “While everyone is responsible to create and maintain a safe and healthy workplace,” the Ministry stated in the release, “employers carry the greatest responsibility because of their authority and control over the worksite.”

ROCKY VIEW, Alta. – A construction firm was recently sentenced to pay a $175,000 fine, including a 15 per cent victim fine surcharge, and serve 16 months of corporate probation for its role in a workplace fatality that occurred on Sept. 8, 2014. According to an undated announcement on the Alberta Ministry of Labour (MOL) website, two employees of Contour Earthmoving Ltd. were walking alongside a forklift that was being used to move a Caterpillar cab in Rocky View that day, but the cab was not secured, and it shifted. One of the workers tried to stop the cab from falling, but it pinned the worker to the ground, resulting in fatal injuries, the MOL stated. On May 31 of this year, Contour pleaded guilty to failing to keep workers out of range of powered mobile equipment carrying a load that could endanger them. Additional charges were dropped, according to the Ministry.

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – A new investigation report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) highlighted gaps in oversight and safety promotion in the fishing sector in its analysis of the capsizing and sinking of the Bessie E. in Mamainse Harbour, near Sault Ste. Marie, on Feb. 16, 2016. That day, the fishing vessel was carrying a master and four crew members when it experienced an engine failure, according to the report, which was published on June 21 of this year. The boat touched bottom and wind pushed it until it capsized; no one was injured, as all five aboard jumped ashore. The TSB later found that the fuel tanks’ filters had been clogged by sediment buildup, which had restricted fuel supply to the engine. The report also revealed regulatory safety deficiencies in the vessel and could not determine if the master had had the required marine certification. The TSB stated that more collaboration is necessary between governments and the fishing community on safety standards and that the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act needs to be applied more to commercial fishing vessels in the province. “The safety of fishermen will be compromised until the complex relationship and interdependency among safety issues is recognized and addressed by the fishing community,” the report stated.

NEWMARKET, Ont. – A paving firm based in Concord, Ont. has been fined $125,000, plus the standard victim fine surcharge, after pleading guilty to its role in an employee’s accidental death on Aug. 27, 2014. That day, a working crew with Vaughan Paving Ltd. was grading and levelling a parking lot at a Markham strip mall to prepare it for concrete curbs. According to a court bulletin from the Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL), a labourer was struck by a reversing skid steer while walking backwards after taking elevation measurements; the worker later died of the injuries at a local hospital. The subsequent MOL investigation found that the skid steer had significant blind spots and no functioning reverse alarm. In addition, a supervisor tried to warn the worker of danger by hitting the horn on a bulldozer, but the horn was broken. Vaughan was convicted of violating Section 104(3) of the Ontario Construction Projects Regulation at the Ontario Court of Justice in Newmarket, and Justice of the Peace Herbert B. Radtke fined the company on June 19 of this year.

HALIFAX, N.S. – Nova Scotia’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal has launched an advertising campaign aiming to make motorists aware of the need to keep construction workers in road work zones safe. A June 21 news release from the Department stated that drivers need to slow down and be considerate of workers around work zones. The release also advised drivers to keep a safe distance from road workers and their equipment, respect flaggers and warning signs, minimize all distractions and expect the unexpected. “Construction workers are someone’s dad, mom, partner or relative,” Lloyd Hines, the province’s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, said in a media statement. “We’re asking drivers to slow down and stay alert when driving through work zones to ensure the safety of these workers.” Nova Scotia Road Builders Association executive director Grant Feltmate noted in a statement that speeding and inattention by drivers remain “the top safety issues” for road construction workers in the province. Drivers who speed in work zones receive double the usual speeding fines and receive demerit points on their records in Nova Scotia, the release added.