Sentencing
for Workplace Death a First
2005 Accident;
Transpave Inc. to learn penalty for disabling safety
device
Graeme
Hamilton, National Post
Published: Tuesday, February 26, 2008
http://www.nationalpost.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=334374
MONTREAL - A Quebec paving-stone manufacturer is set to
appear for a sentencing hearing today after becoming the
first company in Canada to be convicted of criminal
negligence causing death as the result of a workplace
accident.
In
a case that is being followed in boardrooms across the
country, Transpave Inc. of Saint-Eustache, north of
Montreal, pleaded guilty in Quebec Court in December to
a charge stemming from the 2005 death of labourer Steve
L'Ecuyer.
Mr.
L'Ecuyer, 23, was crushed to death by machinery as he
tried to clear a backlog of stones on the production
line. An investigation by Quebec's health and safety
board discovered that a safety device intended to
prevent such an accident had been deliberately disabled
for most of 2005 and 2004.
The
conviction is the first since the federal government
amended the Criminal Code in 2004 to make it easier to
charge companies for health and safety offences. The
amendments were in response to the 1992 Westray mine
disaster in Nova Scotia, in which 26 men were killed but
no criminal convictions resulted.
Cheryl
Edwards, a Toronto lawyer specializing in workplace
safety issues, said the Transpave case will likely lead
to more criminal prosecutions. So far, Crown attorneys
have been content to allow occupational health and
safety tribunals decide the cases, but the Transpave
case signals that a criminal conviction is possible.
"When
trade unions and families press very hard for action on
the part of the police and Crown attorneys, generally
speaking, that is influential," said Ms. Edwards, a
partner with Heenan Blaikie. "When the general public
gets mad about a Westray, or they get mad about a
high-profile death, there's more of a tendency for the
police and the Crown attorneys to say, 'No, we're not
going to just leave this to the [occupational health and
safety] process. We're going to treat it as a crime.' "
Martin
Cauchon, who was Liberal justice minister when the
changes became law as Bill C-45, said he hopes news of
the Transpave conviction will result in greater caution
among employers.
"The
law is not what it used to be. The legislator is really
serious about workplace safety," he said. "When I talk
to the corporate world, it seems that they're still not
aware of the situation. With that first conviction, even
though it's a guilty plea, people will read the judgment
and be more careful in the future."
Mr.
L'Ecuyer had just relieved a co-worker who was going on
break when the fatal accident occurred on Oct. 11, 2005.
He was trying to manually free stones that were blocking
a machine when an apparatus used to arrange the stones
on pallets descended and crushed him.
Workplace-safety
investigators found that a safety barrier meant to
prevent the machine from operating when someone was
underneath it had been disabled. Workers said it was
disconnected because it was causing production
slowdowns. There was also evidence that a member of
management was aware of the situation but did nothing to
correct it.
There
is no limit on the possible fine, and the Quebec
Federation of Labour wants the court to levy a
substantial penalty. "The court now has the duty to
impose an exemplary sentence to send an unequivocal
message to employers who make a mockery of the health
and safety of their workers," QFL president Michel
Arsenault said in a statement.
Ms.
Edwards said employers are taking note. "The good
corporate citizens in Canada sat up in 2004, when C-45
was passed, and asked, 'How do we make sure we're
compliant?' Now they're sitting up again and saying,
'Let's check again and make sure we're not doing
something that contravenes the Criminal Code.' I think
it's being watched nationally," she said.
ghamilton@nationalpost.com
