OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY CONVICTIONS MORE THAN DOUBLE LAST YEAR’S NUMBER

Two individuals and a sewer service company from Regina have pleaded guilty in Provincial Court to charges under Saskatchewan's Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) regulations. Total fines of $5,750 were handed out in the three separate cases.

The number of OHS convictions has now increased to 25 in 2010-11, compared to a total of 11 in the previous year. Also, 42 prosecutions have been initiated this year, 10 more than all of 2009-10. OHS convictions and acquittals are published online at www.lrws.gov.sk.ca.

The most recent convictions are as follows:

• G and B Sewer Services Ltd. pleaded guilty to two charges for non-compliance with OHS regulations related to supervision and protection of workers during trenching activities.
• Les Heidt, owner of Les Construction, pleaded guilty to two charges in connection with the failure to provide sufficient supervision and ensure workers use fall protection. Two additional charges were stayed by the Crown.
• Quenton Franke, a supervisor with Laron Builders Ltd. pleaded guilty to one charge for failure to ensure that workers complied with the OHS Act and regulations. Laron Builders Ltd. was also charged in relation to the same incident, and its trial is scheduled to commence on May 12, 2011.

OHS has a zero tolerance approach to violations of fall protection and trenching legislation.

All of the charges arose from routine inspections of Regina worksites by the Occupational Health and Safety Division. OHS conducts approximately 4,000 worksite inspections annually to ensure standards are known, understood and enforced.

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For more information, contact:

Bill Stovin
Labour Relations and Workplace Safety
Regina
Phone: 306-787-0926