CITY OF PRINCE ALBERT, SUPERVISOR AND CONTRACTOR FINED A COMBINED TOTAL OF MORE THAN $21,000

The City of Prince Albert, a supervisor employed by the city and a contractor working for the city have pleaded guilty to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) charges in Prince Albert Provincial Court.

The charges related to two separate incidents.

The first involved the City of Prince Albert and Rusway Construction Ltd., a contractor employed by the city. Charges were laid after a trench collapsed in June, 2008.

Rusway Construction Ltd. pleaded guilty to three charges and was fined a total of $13,180 for:

• failure to ensure that workers were protected from cave-ins or sliding material in a trench;
• failure to notify OHS of its intention to dig a trench that was more than five metres deep in which a worker would be required or permitted to enter; and
• failure to ensure that all equipment was kept at least one metre from the edge of a trench.

The City of Prince Albert pleaded guilty to one count of failing to notify OHS of its intention to dig a trench more than five metres deep in which a worker would be required or permitted to enter and was fined a total of $1,050.

One additional charge against Rusway Construction Ltd. and two additional charges against the City of Prince Albert were stayed.

The second set of charges stemmed from a routine OHS inspection in March, 2009. The City of Prince Albert pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that workers were protected from cave-ins or sliding material in a trench and was fined a total of $7,000.

Neal Basaraba, a supervisor with the City of Prince Albert, pleaded guilty to failing to ensure workers under his supervision worked in compliance with OHS legislation and was fined a total of $310.

One other charge against the City of Prince Albert was stayed.

The OHS Division works to eliminate workplace injuries and illnesses. OHS conducts about 4,000 worksite inspections annually to ensure standards are known, understood and enforced, and investigates where workers are killed or seriously injured in a work related incident.

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For more information, contact:

Jennifer Veri
Labour Relations and Workplace Safety
Regina
Phone: 306-787-1331