Global Sports Resources Ltd. pleaded guilty to one count under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Code for failing to take all reasonable steps to constrain, retain or protect equipment or material that could be dislodged or moved and injure a worker. The company was sentenced Oct. 31 in the Sherwood Park Court of Justice. The Crown withdrew five other charges under OHS legislation. The Crown also withdrew seven charges under OHS legislation against Reward Construction Ltd. related to the same incident.
The charges stem from an incident at an arena in Tofield on March 31, 2022. A worker was conducting demolition and reclamation work when a support beam broke free and struck the worker. This caused the worker to fall from a ladder, resulting in fatal injuries.
Global Sports Resources Ltd. was ordered to pay $200,000 in total penalties, including a $25,000 fine inclusive of the 20 per cent victim fine surcharge. Under a creative sentence, the company was ordered to pay $75,000 to STARS Air Ambulance to be used for operational costs. The company was also ordered to pay $100,000 to the Alberta Municipal Health and Safety Association to develop and implement a line-of-fire awareness campaign and a line-of-fire e-course. The company was placed on two years of enhanced regulatory supervision.
The Occupational Health and Safety 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. Creative sentences can also include an enhanced regulatory supervision order, which requires a convicted party to complete a number of action items to improve corporate or individual health and safety systems or knowledge.
Both the company 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 Sherwood Park Court of Justice.
- Victim fine surcharges apply to fines payable to the Crown. The $25,000 fine in this case includes the 20 per cent surcharge. Surcharges are not applied to payments to other entities, in this case STARS Air Ambulance and the Alberta Municipal Health and Safety Association, under creative sentences.
- Fatality investigation summaries are posted to alberta.ca/fatality-investigation-summaries 60 to 90 days after court proceedings conclude.