Adding charge of "corporate killing" to Criminal Code proposed
Federal politicians are once again considering changes to the Criminal Code that could put business leaders in jail when employees are killed on the job.
Earlier this month, the House of Commons Committee on Justice and Human Rights began hearings on proposed changes to the Criminal Code that would make corporations more accountable for the health and safety of workers. On the table will be the possibility of a new charge of “corporate killing.”
Currently, the Criminal Code does not define corporate responsibility for the acts of executives that harm employees.
The hearings began just days after the annual Day of Mourning (April 28) for workers killed or injured on the job. While workplace injuries have been trending downward in recent years, deaths in the workplace continue to average more than two a day. (In 2000, the last year for which complete statistics are available, 882 Canadians were killed on the job.)
The Canadian Labour Congress used the Day of Mourning call for legislation to hold corporations, directors and officers responsible for safe workplaces. “People who deliberately make decisions which result in death or injury to Canadians in any other circumstances would feel the full force of the law. Why should the corporate boardrooms of Canada be exempted?” asked CLC president Ken Georgetti.
The United Steelworkers of Canada launched a new campaign to mark the 10th anniversary of the infamous Westray mine disaster, where 26 miners were killed. The inquiry into the disaster described the behaviour of some Westray senior managers as “willful blindness,” and called for legislative action to ensure executives and directors are held accountable.
Bev Desjarlais, NDP MP for Churchill, introduced bill C284 as a private member’s bill. After some resistance in the House, Desjarlais agreed to withdraw the bill from the floor so long as the substance would be discussed by the Justice and Human Rights committee. This led to the current hearing which should wrap up early next month and a report will likely be presented before Parliament breaks for the summer. NDP leader Alexa McDonough introduced a similar bill in 2000 but it stalled and disappeared when the election was called in the fall of 2000.
There should be some liability for employers where there is blatant neglect, said Desjarlais.
Some business groups are opposed to the law, but the vast majority of employers have nothing to fear from tougher laws, she said. Charges would only be pressed against organizations that were blatantly and systematically negligent in regard to the health and safety of workers and therefore the law should not affect many workplaces. In fact, when groups resist the law it raises questions about what they have to hide, she said. “If they think it is going to be that bad, then maybe we have a bigger issue.”
Bob Lewicki, a health and safety consultant with the Pulp and Paper Health and Safety Association, said that in Ontario, the Ministry of Labour has been cracking down on health and safety violations, issuing fines rather than warnings for first violations, for example.
He also said while business leaders have a role to play and more should be done to make workplaces safer, ultimately they have little impact on the shop floors where injuries happen.
Many times systems are in place but so long as you have humans involved in the systems, there will be accidents. “Most times it is people not doing what they are supposed to do,” he said. “As long as you have the human element involved, you can’t eliminate accidents.”
Earlier this month, the House of Commons Committee on Justice and Human Rights began hearings on proposed changes to the Criminal Code that would make corporations more accountable for the health and safety of workers. On the table will be the possibility of a new charge of “corporate killing.”
Currently, the Criminal Code does not define corporate responsibility for the acts of executives that harm employees.
The hearings began just days after the annual Day of Mourning (April 28) for workers killed or injured on the job. While workplace injuries have been trending downward in recent years, deaths in the workplace continue to average more than two a day. (In 2000, the last year for which complete statistics are available, 882 Canadians were killed on the job.)
The Canadian Labour Congress used the Day of Mourning call for legislation to hold corporations, directors and officers responsible for safe workplaces. “People who deliberately make decisions which result in death or injury to Canadians in any other circumstances would feel the full force of the law. Why should the corporate boardrooms of Canada be exempted?” asked CLC president Ken Georgetti.
The United Steelworkers of Canada launched a new campaign to mark the 10th anniversary of the infamous Westray mine disaster, where 26 miners were killed. The inquiry into the disaster described the behaviour of some Westray senior managers as “willful blindness,” and called for legislative action to ensure executives and directors are held accountable.
Bev Desjarlais, NDP MP for Churchill, introduced bill C284 as a private member’s bill. After some resistance in the House, Desjarlais agreed to withdraw the bill from the floor so long as the substance would be discussed by the Justice and Human Rights committee. This led to the current hearing which should wrap up early next month and a report will likely be presented before Parliament breaks for the summer. NDP leader Alexa McDonough introduced a similar bill in 2000 but it stalled and disappeared when the election was called in the fall of 2000.
There should be some liability for employers where there is blatant neglect, said Desjarlais.
Some business groups are opposed to the law, but the vast majority of employers have nothing to fear from tougher laws, she said. Charges would only be pressed against organizations that were blatantly and systematically negligent in regard to the health and safety of workers and therefore the law should not affect many workplaces. In fact, when groups resist the law it raises questions about what they have to hide, she said. “If they think it is going to be that bad, then maybe we have a bigger issue.”
Bob Lewicki, a health and safety consultant with the Pulp and Paper Health and Safety Association, said that in Ontario, the Ministry of Labour has been cracking down on health and safety violations, issuing fines rather than warnings for first violations, for example.
He also said while business leaders have a role to play and more should be done to make workplaces safer, ultimately they have little impact on the shop floors where injuries happen.
Many times systems are in place but so long as you have humans involved in the systems, there will be accidents. “Most times it is people not doing what they are supposed to do,” he said. “As long as you have the human element involved, you can’t eliminate accidents.”
