Steele Tech Fabrication Inc., as an employer, pleaded guilty on Aug. 26 in the Barrhead Court of Justice to one count under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act for failing to ensure the health and safety of a worker. The Crown withdrew four other counts.
Under a creative sentence, the company was ordered to pay $90,000 to the Barrhead Composite High School to purchase equipment for the school’s shop and welding/fabrication labs to increase student and teacher safety and provide students with high quality, modern training. The company was also placed on 18 months of enhanced regulatory supervision.
The charges stem from an incident that occurred at a steel fabrication shop near Barrhead on March 17, 2022. Workers were moving a steel I-beam out of the shop with a telehandler forklift. The I-beam fell off the forks and struck a worker, who was walking beside the I-beam to guide it. The worker sustained serious injuries.
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. 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 fatality or serious injury.
Quick facts
- Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration does not provide sentence documents. These are available through the Barrhead Court of Justice.
- Victim fine surcharges apply to fines payable to the Crown. They are not applied to payments to other entities under creative sentences.
- An enhanced regulatory supervision order requires a convicted party to complete a number of action items to improve corporate or individual health and safety systems or knowledge.