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. The company was sentenced Jan. 27 in the Edson Court of Justice. The Crown withdrew 19 other charges under OHS legislation.

The charges stem from an incident at the company’s facilities in Edson on March 5, 2022. A worker was preparing equipment for transport off site. The equipment became activated and the worker was pulled into the equipment, sustaining fatal injuries.

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 a creative sentence, 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. Students in both programs must demonstrate a strong safety attitude and culture to qualify for the scholarships.

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. 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 Edson Court of Justice.
  • Victim fine surcharges apply to fines payable to the Crown. The $5,000 fine in this case includes the 20 per cent surcharge.
  • Surcharges are not applied to payments to other entities, in this case the $225,000 and $120,000 for the scholarships, under creative sentences.
  • Fatality investigation summaries are posted to alberta.ca/fatality-investigation-summaries 60 to 90 days after court proceedings conclude.

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