WorkSafeBC has levied the highest fine it has ever imposed - nearly $300,000 - after a fatality that occurred at a major sawmill, citing the mill's management "ignored safety concerns and condoned a culture where complacency in the face of danger became the norm."
The death met three standards to justify the high penalty to the company: It involved a fatality, it arose out of a high-risk violation, and the violations were committed willfully or with reckless disregard.
The local police force recommended criminal charges be brought against the company under the 2004 Westray amendment to the Criminal Code. The amendment made company management criminally liable if it could be proven they demonstrated a wanton or reckless disregard for the safety of workers, however the evidence presented to Crown counsel did not support a substantial likelihood of conviction.
The death was "a heart-breaking, unacceptable, and preventable loss." and although the charges were never pursued, measures have been taken within the company to ensure such an accident never happens again.
Learn about Bill C-45 and Safety
Learn about COR
Run the Simply Safety Presentation
|
Click for White Paper:
Incident Software Provides
- tracking of People, Safety and Training
- instant access to records during an investigation
- improved regulatory compliance
- reduced incident and accident rates
- reduced management workload and legal risk
Simply Safety! incident management software can help protect you and your company by allowing you to be proactive in reducing risk and associated costs and keeping an accurate due diligence trail. Simply Safety! software program replaces paper-based or spreadsheet tracking with a modern efficient way to manage critical compliance data.
Looking for a better way?
Call 1-800-893-9333 Pacific today to book a 20 minute online web demo of Simply Safety! for your management team!
Go To Simply Safety Page
|
