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OHS Fines Scorecard for 2024 (October 16 to November 13)

After 2 consecutive slow months, reported OHS fines spiked up dramatically from mid-October to mid-November.  In fact, the period between October 16 to November 13 was the biggest of the year so far in terms of both fine volume and fine amounts. Of the 19 significant OHS fines reported, 11 were in the 6-figure range. Bottom Line: Over 45% of all reported OHS fines during the year have totaled $100,000 or more.

Table 1. OHS Fines in 2024 At A Glance (through November 13)

Period Total Reported Fines Reported 6-Figure Fines
Jan to mid-Feb 11 6
Mid-Feb to mid-March 11 4
Mid-March to mid-April 10 2
Mid-April to mid-May 12 9
Mid-May to mid-June 12 5
Mid-June to mid-July 10 4
Mid-July to mid-August 14 6
Mid-August to mid-September 12 4
Mid-September to mid-October 9 4
Mid-October to mid-November 19 11
Total 120 55

Source: Bongarde

Saskatchewan was the epicenter of OHS enforcement activity during the period by handing out 2 of the 5 biggest OHS fines reported in 2024. That includes the year’s highest fine--$840,000 against Saskatchewan Power Corporation after a trial convicting the company of 3 OHS violations leading to the death of 2 workers in a fall from the bucket of a bucket truck. That’s the biggest OHS fine ever recorded in Saskatchewan, easily surpassing the previous record of $560,000 levied against a cement company in 2019. And it could have been worse. The Crown asked the court for a $2.1 million sentence--$700,000 per violation—given SaskPower’s size and the magnitude of the offence. But the court settled on $840,000 in light of mitigating factors, including the company’s relatively strong safety record with only 1 OHS conviction in over a decade and the fact that the victims contributed to the tragedy by not clipping the D ring of their safety belt lanyard to the fall protection anchor in the bucket truck.

Saskatchewan also handed out the most 6-figure fines with 3, including the period’s second biggest fine and fourth highest of the year. As fate would have it, SaskPower was also on the receiving end of this fine totaling $700,000 for failing to ensure that equipment and personnel kept the required minimum distance away from an exposed energized electrical conductor resulting in serious injuries to a worker. BC also accounted for 3 fines of over $100,000, including a $274,000 penalty against a Penticton hospital for exposing workers to an unknown hazardous substance. Alberta reported 2 fines in the 6-figure range, including penalties of $350,000 and $200,000 against separate employers for incidents resulting in fatal falls. The other 6-figure fines came from Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Nunavut.

Table 2. Top 7 OHS Fines of 2024 At A Glance (through November 13)

Fine Amount Province Type of Company/Incident
1 $840,000 Saskatchewan Power company/3 OHS violations resulting in fatal fall of 2 workers from a bucket truck.
2 $783,068 British Columbia Smelting facility/Fatal fall during overhead crane inspection.
3 $710,488 British Columbia Shipyard/Confined space asphyxiation.
4 $700,000 Saskatchewan Power company/Exposure to energized electrical conductor resulting in serious injuries.
5 $600,000 Ontario Truck manufacturer/Explosion during handling of flammables resulting in 6 fatalities.
6 $420,000 Alberta Contractor/Powered mobile equipment fatality.
7 $391,534 British Columbia Lumber company/Repeat violations not connected to a specific incident.

Source: Bongarde

While Ontario leads the nation for the most 6-figure OHS fines reported in 2024 with 17, only one of the 10 biggest fines of the year has come from that province. Alberta has imposed far fewer overall fines than Ontario but 13 of them have been for $100,000 or more, including the sixth highest OHS fine of 2024. BC has accounted for 12 reported fines in the 6-figure fine range, including the second and third largest fines of the year. Saskatchewan has asserted its presence with 8 reported OHS fines of $100,000 or more, including the year’s biggest and fourth biggest. Northwest Territories and Nunavut haven’t handed out many fines but the ones they have levied have made an impact with 3 in the 6-figure range. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are the only other jurisdictions that have reported a 6-figure OHS fine in 2024.

Table 3. 6-Figures OHS Fines in 2024 By Jurisdiction (through November 13)

Jurisdiction Reported 6-Figure Fines in 2024
1 Ontario 17
2 Alberta 13
3 British Columbia 12
4 Saskatchewan 8
5 Northwest Territories 2
6 Nova Scotia 1
6 New Brunswick 1
6 Nunavut 1

Source: Bongarde

Overall OHS Fines

In terms of fine volume, BC handed out the most fines of the period with 8. But that number is somewhat deceptive because it actually reflects 2 months’ worth of volume given the province didn’t report its October results until November. Saskatchewan accounted for 4 of this month’s reported 19 fines. Ontario and Alberta were the only other jurisdictions to report multiple fines during the period with 2 apiece.

Table 3. OHS Fines Reported from October 16 to November 13, 2024* (over $25,000)

Jurisdiction Fine Company What Happened Violation(s)
SK $840,000 Saskatchewan Power Corporation Two workers are killed after falling from the bucket of a bucket truck.
  • Failure to provide and maintain plant, systems of work, and working environments to ensure workers’ health, safety, and welfare.
  • Failure to provide workers necessary safety information, instruction, training, and supervision.
  • Requiring or allowing a worker to be raised or lowered by an aerial device or elevating work platform or work from a device or platform held in an elevated position without providing and requiring use of a personal fall arrest system.
SK $700,000 Saskatchewan Power Corporation Worker suffers serious injuries as a result of being exposed to an energized electrical conductor. Failure to ensure that workers and equipment maintain a specified minimum distance away from an exposed energized electrical conductor.
AB $350,000 West Coast Scaffolding Inc. Worker suffers fatal fall while dismantling a section of a scaffold at a pulp mill. Unspecified.
NU $300,000 B2Gold Back River Corp. (formerly Sabina Gold & Silver Corp.), Matrix Aviation Solutions Inc., Matrix Kitikmeot Ltd., and Gallant Restorations Incorporated Mine worker clearing snow from an ice road onsite is killed when the D6-T Dozer he’s operating goes through the sea ice near a pressure ridge. Unspecified.
BC $274,073 Interior Health Authority Hospital workers get ill after being exposed to an unknown hazardous substance.
  • Failure to communicate and train workers in its safe work procedure for responding to illicit substances.
  • Failure to implement procedures to control risk of exposure to potentially harmful chemical agents.
AB $200,000 Global Sport Resources Ltd. Steel support beam being moved by an overhead crane on a Lift Gate breaks free from the rigging and hits a worker on a step ladder resulting in a fatal fall. Failure to ensure the Lift Gate was contained, restrained, or protected to eliminate the risk of injury from the dislodging or moving of equipment or material.
ON $200,000 Pickard Construction Worker injured while using compressed air to unblock a previously buried high-density polyurethane (HDPE) pipe. Failure to develop written procedures for the use of compressed air to clear HDPE pipes.
BC $175,529 Onni Contracting Ltd. WorkSafeBC inspectors observe unguarded rebar protuberances in walkways at construction site. Failure, as prime contractor, to ensure that protruding objects creating a risk of injury were effectively guarded.
BC $167,890 Femo Construction Ltd. Tower crane makes contact with high-voltage powerline at construction site. Failure to ensure that:

  • The crane’s zone-limiting device was working.
  • The crane’s remote control wasn’t left unattended.
  • Training records were available to the crane operator.
  • Workers were informed of the existence of the electrical equipment and work procedures to be followed before work close to high-voltage electrical equipment began.
SK $125,000 Bakke Contracting Ltd. Worker suffers serious injury after falling from an elevated platform. Failure to provide and maintain plant, systems of work, and working environments to ensure workers’ health, safety, and welfare.
NS $100,000 Blaine F. MacLane Excavation Limited Electrician dies in scaffold collapse. Failure, as a constructor, to ensure that scaffolding is erected, installed, assembled, or maintained in accordance with CSA Z797.
BC $87,184 Pure Sunfarms Corp. Inspectors spot multiple OHS violations at firm's cannabis cultivation worksite, including repeat offences. Failure to ensure:

  • Stacked material or containers were stabilized.
  • Compressed gas cylinders were stabilized to prevent falling or rolling.
  • Hazardous products were labelled.
  • Warning signs were posted in noise hazard areas.
  • Floors and walkways were kept free of slipping and tripping hazards.
SK $85,000 Strathcona Resources Ltd Worker suffers serious injuries after getting struck by an injector clamp that had become loose during work at an oil well site. Failure, as a contractor, to ensure contracted work is carried out safely (employer fined for same incident).
ON $80,000 Andritz Hydro Canada Millwright suffers serious injuries after being hit by a falling sole plate that wasn’t adequately secured. Failure, as employer and constructor, to ensure the sole plate was adequately braced to prevent any movement that may affect its stability or cause its failure or collapse.
BC $65,498 + Stop Work Order Yellowridge Construction Ltd. WorkSafeBC officers doing routine inspection of 4-storey apartment building construction site fall 2 stories to main floor when the bottom of the stairway they’re climbing breaks and swings away. Failure, as prime contractor to ensure:

  • Regular inspections were conducted to prevent unsafe work conditions (repeat violation).
  • Health and safety activities were coordinated (high-risk violation).
  • Establish and maintain a system of regulatory compliance (high-risk violation).
SK $55,000 Steel View Energy & Industrial Services Ltd. Worker suffers serious injuries after getting struck by an injector clamp that had become loose during work at an oil well site. Failure, as an employer, to provide and maintain plant, systems of work, and working environments to ensure workers’ health, safety and welfare (contractor fined for same incident).
BC $52,056 BCD Ventures Ltd. Contractor doesn’t notify workers of presence of asbestos-containing materials at housing renovation site and allows them to work without PPE. Failure to ensure that renovation work of a building isn’t carried out before hazardous materials are safely contained or removed.
BC $43,590 0381060 B.C. Ltd. WorkSafeBC inspectors responding to a confined space fire injury incident observe multiple OHS violations at high-rise construction site. Failure as prime contractor to:

  • Ensure each access into a confined space was identified by a sign to indicate the hazard and ban entry by unauthorized workers.
  • Ensure health and safety activities in the workplace were coordinated.
  • Do everything reasonably practicable to establish and maintain a system of regulatory compliance.
BC $35,079 Phoenix Homes (2011) Limited WorkSafeBC inspectors at multi-storey apartment building construction site observe a worker on an unguarded balcony with no fall protection in place, creating risk of a fall risk greater than 5.5m (18ft.). Failure to ensure use of fall protection (repeat and high-risk violation).

* BC OHS fines get reported a month late but are included in the most recent period to ensure continuity and consistency for comparison purposes across all provinces.

Source: Bongarde