LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

New Laws

Jul 22: Saskatchewan joined the new Memorandum of Understanding signed by Ontario and Alberta earlier this month establishing a framework for the provinces to work together to develop strategic trade corridors and energy infrastructure to connect each province’s oil, gas and critical minerals to global markets. The 3 provinces will also collaborate on nuclear energy development. A second agreement aims to reduce barriers to interprovincial trade of liquor products.

New Laws

Jul 21: The Governments of Saskatchewan and Canada increased the AgriStability program compensation rate to producers from 80 to 90 cents for each dollar of decline in eligible income. The compensation cap for larger farms and ranches also doubled from $3 million to $6 million. AgriStability is a whole-farm, low-cost business risk-management program that helps farm operations manage large declines in net farming income via personalized coverage based on each farm’s income tax and production.

Training

Jul 28: Saskatchewan announced that it will invest $560,000 to fund union-led construction electrician apprenticeship training to further the efforts to build a skilled trades labour force to support province’s power grid.  now and into the future. The training will be provided by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

Workplace Violence

Aug 1: A new law called The Safe Public Spaces (Street Weapons) Act took effect that bans possession of knives, hypodermic needles, machetes, bear spray, and other items that could be used as street weapons, as well as dangerous drugs such as methamphetamine and fentanyl in public spaces and vehicles traveling through public spaces punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and/or up to 1 year in prison. A privately owned building that’s not open to the general public is not considered a public space.

Action Point: Find out how to implement an effective Workplace Violence and Harassment Compliance Game Plan at your site.

Workers’ Comp

Aug 1: New legislation took effect that expands presumptive firefighters’ workers’ comp coverage for 22 cancer types to wildland firefighters. Bill 4 also provides voluntary workers’ comp coverage, subject to WCB approval, to Saskatchewan employers whose staff work out-of-province and whose usual place of residence is in Canada.

Workers’ Comp

Aug 1: The Saskatchewan WCB published a new policy and procedure for determining coverage of secondary injuries that occur as a result of an initial work-related injury. The policy defines “secondary injury” as a separate and distinct clinically diagnosed injury, disease or condition that occurs as a consequence or complication of an initial compensable work-related injury.”

CASES

Material Handling: Court Overturns Guilty Verdicts Against Employer for Worker’s Trolley Death

A heavy trolley cart being moved by a construction worker fell on a member of the clean-up crew who was removing nails from boards, causing fatal injuries. After a long trial, the court found the victim’s employer guilty of 2 OHS violations—failure to ensure the safe transport of equipment and not providing adequate safety information, training and supervision. But the Saskatchewan appeals court ruled that the verdicts were unreasonable. In rejecting the employer’s due diligence defense, the trial court drew on evidence based on experiences at another site run in Grand Prairie by the same contractor that the employer should have applied to the Saskatoon site where the accident occurred. In so doing, the court overestimated the employer’s connection to and control over the Grande Prairie site, the appeals court reasoned. So, the case had to go back down for a new trial [R v Banff Constructors Ltd., 2025 SKKB 102 (CanLII), July 14, 2025].

Material Handling: Court Overturns Not Guilty Verdict Against Supplier for Worker’s Trolley Death

Same case as above but with a different defendant: A heavy trolley cart being moved by a construction worker fell on a member of the clean-up crew who was removing nails from boards, causing fatal injuries. After a long trial, the court acquitted the company that made the trolley of charges of failing to meet its OHS duties as a “supplier.” The company wasn’t a “supplier” because it didn’t know that the contractor to whom it sold the equipment would supply it to the victim’s employer for use. The Saskatchewan appeals court found the not guilty verdict unreasonable and set it aside. A person’s status as a “supplier” under the OHS law isn’t based on knowing the identity of who use the equipment, the court reasoned. The point of having supplier duties is to ensure that whoever ends up using equipment gets the information and instructions necessary to use it safely. The supplier doesn’t have to know who those persons are. Result: The case had to go back down for a new trial [R v Pilosio Canada, 2025 SKKB 103 (CanLII), July 14, 2025].