Case summaries – Withdrawn
R v Chantiers Chibougamau (2018)
In November 2013, Martial Larouche, a plumber subcontracted by Chantiers Chibougamau, a lumber company, was working when he fell and plummeted 9 metres in a silo filled with sawdust. He died of asphyxiation. The company was charged with criminal negligence causing death, and pleaded not guilty.
The charges were withdrawn in 2018 for unknown reasons. News coverage of the incident suggests that Chantiers Chibougamau paid a fine of $65,000, undertook to invest $200,000 in the health and safety of its company over three years, and donated $50,000 to each of the victim’s children.
R v Hritchuk, 2012 QCCS 4525
Mark Hritchuk was the manager at an automobile service facility. On February 10, 2005, while under his supervision, two mechanics suffered serious burn injuries while using a hand-crafted fuel pump to transfer gas. The pump had been broken for years, without the mechanics’ knowledge. Hritchuk was charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm in May 2007. In exchange for pleading guilty to the charge of unlawfully causing bodily harm contrary to section 269(a) of the Criminal Code, the criminal negligence charges under the Westray amendments were withdrawn.
R v Millennium Crane (2011)
On April 16, 2009, a mobile crane owned by Millennium Crane Rentals killed a worker by falling into a hole where he was working and crushing him. The company, owner David Brian Selvers, and operator Anthony Vanderloo were charged with criminal negligence causing death because they failed to take reasonable steps to ensure the crane was properly maintained, inspected, and in good safe operating condition. The charges were later withdrawn by the Crown after it determined that there was no reasonable prospect of a conviction. In particular, the engineering opinion was unable to establish with certainty whether the braking capacity of the crane was able to stop the crane from entering the excavation.
R v Peck (2011)
Diane Peck worked as a personal support worker in a nursing home. She was charged after a nursing home resident died, presumably due to a fall while being moved without the assistance of a co-worker or the use of a company mandatory lift system. During the move, it was assumed that the client was accidentally dropped and suffered a leg injury. Peck did not report the injury. When fellow staff members noticed the leg injury a few days later, the client was taken to a local hospital. The injury was diagnosed as a fractured femur and a week later, the client died due to complications from the leg injury. The charges were withdrawn after the Crown determined that there was no reasonable prospect of a conviction.
R v Fantini (2005)
Domenico Fantini was a supervisor employed by a small construction contractor in Ontario. He was charged with one count of criminal negligence causing death when a trench collapsed and killed a worker under his supervision. In exchange for a guilty plea to three violations under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act and a fine of $50,000, the criminal negligence charge under the Criminal Code was withdrawn.
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