Kill a Worker, go to jail

Twelve years after the Westray mine disaster of 1992 the Criminal Code of Canada was amended by Bill C-45. Bill C-45 allowed for prosecutions of corporate executives, directors and managers who wrongfully or neglect to uphold their responsibilities to make and keep workplaces (large and small) healthy and safe. The successful passing of the amendment had little to do with political will and more to do with the work of United Steelworkers for whom the Westray mine disaster meant the loss of 26 of their brothers.

As of to-day no executive, director or manager resides in prison as a result of the amendment and a successful prosecution. The fact that hundreds of workers in Ontario alone have lost their lives since 2004 and over two Million workers have been injured is proof enough that executives, directors and mangers across Ontario and Canada who neglect their health and safety responsibilities have not had a change of heart such that Bill C-45 is not needed. Never more true is the opposite; they have simply been able to avoid successful prosecution under C-45 even if they were in many cases successful prosecuted under various provincial acts such as the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

It may be that the end is near, for those in a position of corporate power who wrongfully or neglect to uphold their responsibilities to make and keep workplaces healthy and safe, as Millennium Crane Rentals Ltd. will appear in court this week on charges of criminal negligence causing death following a fatal accident last spring, according to an article published yesterday at http://www.lawtimesnews.com. The charges are as a result of Bill C-45, according to the article.

By charging Millennium Crane Rentals Ltd. law enforcement in this case is making it clear to employers that if they kill a worker they are going to jail. The Labour movement under the leadership of the Ontario Federation of Labour has called for a criminal investigation into the Christmas Eve tragedy that took the lives of four construction workers and seriously injured a fifth. There is no doubt that as this plays out Bill C-45 will be very much on the minds of the investigators and on those that acted in such a way as to cause these deaths and injuries.

Plainly and simply, the time has come for corporate leaders and trade union leaders who put safety as their first priority to push as hard as possible for the maximum penalties under the law for corporate leaders who choose to do otherwise.

Dave Trumble
President
Grey-Bruce Labour Council