Prairie Mines & Royalty ULC, as an employer, pleaded guilty on July 8 in the Leduc 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 11 other counts.
The charges stem from an incident that occurred at a mine site near Warburg on Nov. 25, 2023. A worker was removing excess water and clearing ice from piping. An ice plug dislodged from the pipe, striking the worker and causing fatal injuries.
Under a creative sentence, the court ordered the company to pay $360,000 to the Alberta Mine Safety Association to conduct research, develop industry best practices and a comprehensive training program for water removal operations.
The company and the Crown have up to 30 days to appeal the conviction or penalty.
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 Leduc Court of Justice.
- 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.
- Victim fine surcharges apply to fines payable to the Crown. They are not applied to payments to other entities under creative sentences.