New law much ado about nothing
“It is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” That’s one of those literary quotes that just sticks with you. It came from the pen of Shakespeare and is uttered by the lead character in Macbeth.
That timeless quote could easily apply to Canada’s so-called corporate killing law. Not to suggest it was told by idiots — you can pass your own judgment on the residents of Parliament Hill — but when Bill C-45 came into force in 2004, it was accompanied by a lot of sound and fury. Four years later, and in the wake of the first conviction under the law, it’s starting to look like the legislation truly signifies nothing.
The law was born in the wake of the disaster that killed 26 people at the Westray coal mine in Stellarton, N.S., in 1992. When the legislation was passed in 2003, it was trumpeted by the Steelworkers. Lawrence McBrearty, national director for the union, famously said the families of the Westray miners can be proud of the fact there will be “no more Westrays.”
But, nearly four years after the legislation came into force, it’s not clear that statement holds true. The deterrent is undoubtedly there — on paper, co-workers, supervisors, managers and executives right at the top can be held criminally responsible for the death of a worker. Jail time is an option, as are hefty fines for corporations and individuals.
For that small minority of employers that don’t comply with health and safety laws and don’t comprehend the cost advantages of having a safe workplace, the law was intended to make them pay attention and make them do the right thing. If common sense and the ability to understand that having fewer workplace injuries is good for the bottom line didn’t work, a set of handcuffs and an empty bank account might. In theory, it sounded great.
In practice, though, it has turned out very differently. It didn’t take long for the first criminal charge to be laid. Domenic Fantini, who was supervising two workers repairing a drainage problem in the foundation of a house in Ontario, was arrested and charged in 2004 after the trench the workers were in collapsed, killing 38-year-old Ameth Garrido.
Those charges were declared a wake-up call in the pages of Canadian HR Reporter. But it turns out employers could have hit the snooze button — the criminal charges were dropped. Fantini pled guilty to charges under the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act and paid a $50,000 fine. Not insignificant, but a long way from the jail time and hefty fines expected to accompany the federal C-45 criminal charges.
Then things got really quiet on the C-45 front. There didn’t seem to be a huge appetite by police, or prosecutors, to seek criminal charges in health and safety crimes. Workers continued to be killed on the job, and fines continued to be levied under provincial workplace health and safety laws.
But things heated up again after Steve L’Écuyer, a 23-year-old Quebec worker, was killed in 2005 and charges were laid under C-45 against his employer. Transpavé, a paving-stone manufacturer in Saint-Eustache, Que., was hauled before the courts and pled guilty. That caught the attention of employers — the first conviction under C-45. What would the court do? After all, unlike provincial safety laws, there are no limits to the fines that can be imposed. Surely the judge would deliver a wake-up call employers couldn’t ignore.
But the sentencing landed last month with more of a whimper than a bang. Transpavé was ordered to pay $110,000. L’Écuyer’s mother said she was disappointed with the ruling — she had been expecting a fine in the millions of dollars. The first C-45 conviction pales in comparison to many provincial health and safety fines. In February, a company in Ontario was ordered to pay $180,000 after a truck driver was crushed by a load of steel. In January, an Alberta company was fined $350,000 after a worker fell to his death. Both those were laid under provincial health and safety laws, which supposedly have less teeth.
There are some mitigating factors in the Transpavé case. The judge said no one was aware a safety guard had been disabled — apparently for more than two years — and there was no intent on the company’s part. He took into account the company’s willingness to take responsibility and the fact it spent $500,000 on safety upgrades since L’Écuyer was killed.
The fine may very well have been appropriate but the long-awaited wake-up call for employers has yet to arrive. Thankfully, there hasn’t been another Westray. But there’s no evidence legislative deterrence has a larger role to play than luck alone.
Look for in-depth coverage of the Transpavé case, including what it means for employers, in the April 21 issue of Canadian HR Reporter.
That timeless quote could easily apply to Canada’s so-called corporate killing law. Not to suggest it was told by idiots — you can pass your own judgment on the residents of Parliament Hill — but when Bill C-45 came into force in 2004, it was accompanied by a lot of sound and fury. Four years later, and in the wake of the first conviction under the law, it’s starting to look like the legislation truly signifies nothing.
The law was born in the wake of the disaster that killed 26 people at the Westray coal mine in Stellarton, N.S., in 1992. When the legislation was passed in 2003, it was trumpeted by the Steelworkers. Lawrence McBrearty, national director for the union, famously said the families of the Westray miners can be proud of the fact there will be “no more Westrays.”
But, nearly four years after the legislation came into force, it’s not clear that statement holds true. The deterrent is undoubtedly there — on paper, co-workers, supervisors, managers and executives right at the top can be held criminally responsible for the death of a worker. Jail time is an option, as are hefty fines for corporations and individuals.
For that small minority of employers that don’t comply with health and safety laws and don’t comprehend the cost advantages of having a safe workplace, the law was intended to make them pay attention and make them do the right thing. If common sense and the ability to understand that having fewer workplace injuries is good for the bottom line didn’t work, a set of handcuffs and an empty bank account might. In theory, it sounded great.
In practice, though, it has turned out very differently. It didn’t take long for the first criminal charge to be laid. Domenic Fantini, who was supervising two workers repairing a drainage problem in the foundation of a house in Ontario, was arrested and charged in 2004 after the trench the workers were in collapsed, killing 38-year-old Ameth Garrido.
Those charges were declared a wake-up call in the pages of Canadian HR Reporter. But it turns out employers could have hit the snooze button — the criminal charges were dropped. Fantini pled guilty to charges under the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act and paid a $50,000 fine. Not insignificant, but a long way from the jail time and hefty fines expected to accompany the federal C-45 criminal charges.
Then things got really quiet on the C-45 front. There didn’t seem to be a huge appetite by police, or prosecutors, to seek criminal charges in health and safety crimes. Workers continued to be killed on the job, and fines continued to be levied under provincial workplace health and safety laws.
But things heated up again after Steve L’Écuyer, a 23-year-old Quebec worker, was killed in 2005 and charges were laid under C-45 against his employer. Transpavé, a paving-stone manufacturer in Saint-Eustache, Que., was hauled before the courts and pled guilty. That caught the attention of employers — the first conviction under C-45. What would the court do? After all, unlike provincial safety laws, there are no limits to the fines that can be imposed. Surely the judge would deliver a wake-up call employers couldn’t ignore.
But the sentencing landed last month with more of a whimper than a bang. Transpavé was ordered to pay $110,000. L’Écuyer’s mother said she was disappointed with the ruling — she had been expecting a fine in the millions of dollars. The first C-45 conviction pales in comparison to many provincial health and safety fines. In February, a company in Ontario was ordered to pay $180,000 after a truck driver was crushed by a load of steel. In January, an Alberta company was fined $350,000 after a worker fell to his death. Both those were laid under provincial health and safety laws, which supposedly have less teeth.
There are some mitigating factors in the Transpavé case. The judge said no one was aware a safety guard had been disabled — apparently for more than two years — and there was no intent on the company’s part. He took into account the company’s willingness to take responsibility and the fact it spent $500,000 on safety upgrades since L’Écuyer was killed.
The fine may very well have been appropriate but the long-awaited wake-up call for employers has yet to arrive. Thankfully, there hasn’t been another Westray. But there’s no evidence legislative deterrence has a larger role to play than luck alone.
Look for in-depth coverage of the Transpavé case, including what it means for employers, in the April 21 issue of Canadian HR Reporter.
