EDSON, ALTA. — Excel Projects Ltd. pleaded guilty to one count under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Code for failing to ensure an operational control on equipment could not be activated unintentionally after a 2022 incident left a worker dead.
According to an Alberta government release, the incident took place at the company’s facilities in Edson on March 5, 2022. A worker was preparing equipment for transport off site when it became activated and the worker was pulled into the equipment, sustaining fatal injuries.
The company was sentenced Jan. 27 in the Edson Court of Justice. The Crown withdrew 19 other charges under OHS legislation.
Excel Projects Ltd. was ordered to pay $350,000 in total penalties, including a $5,000 fine inclusive of the 20 per cent victim fine surcharge.
Under Alberta’s creative sentencing, the company was ordered to pay $225,000 to establish a scholarship for heavy equipment operator program students at Olds College and $120,000 for a similar scholarship at Portage College.
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 company and the Crown have up to 30 days to appeal the conviction or penalties.
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