Source: Government of Canada regional news (2)
Eastern Irrigation District, as an employer, pleaded guilty to one count under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Code for failing to ensure an intake mechanism was locked out before a dive began. The company was sentenced on Feb. 19 in the Brooks Court of Justice. The Crown withdrew nine other charges under OHS legislation.
The charges stem from an incident at the Lake Newell and Rolling Hills Reservoirs south of Brooks on Oct. 19, 2022. A diver was assessing, inspecting and completing work on the reservoirs’ gates and suffered fatal injuries during the dive.
Under a creative sentence, the court ordered the irrigation district to pay total penalties of $365,000. It was ordered to pay $300,000 to the Central Alberta Rescue Diving Society for equipment and training and $65,000 to the Alberta Underwater Council for a safety campaign directed toward divers and employers.
The OHS Act provides a creative sentence option in which funds that would otherwise be paid as fines are directed to an organization or project to improve or promote workplace health and safety.
Both the irrigation district and the Crown have up to 30 days to appeal the conviction or penalties.
Alberta’s OHS laws set basic health and safety rules for workplaces across the province. They provide guidance for employers to help them ensure their workplaces are as healthy and safe as possible while providing rights and protections for workers. Charges under OHS laws may be laid when failing to follow the rules results in a workplace fatality or serious injury.
Quick facts
- Jobs, Economy and Trade does not provide sentence documents. These are available through the Brooks Court of Justice.
- Victim fine surcharges apply to fines payable to the Crown.
- Surcharges are not applied to payments to other entities under creative sentences.
- Fatality investigation summaries are posted to alberta.ca/fatality-investigation-summaries 60 to 90 days after court proceedings conclude.
Related information
- Convictions under OHS legislation
- Charges under OHS legislation
- OHS incident investigations