Quebec Employer Found Guilty of Criminal Negligence

In a Quebec Court decision, Mr. Pasquale Scrocca, a landscape contractor, was found guilty of criminal negligence causing death of one of his employees. While performing landscaping work at a commercial building, Mr. Scrocca was operating a backhoe, when the brakes of the vehicle failed and he collided into the employee. Experts confirmed that the vehicle was 30 years old, very poorly maintained and that the brakes were completely non-functional.

Ultimately, the Court concluded that, in neglecting to perform maintenance on the backhoe, Mr. Scrocca markedly departed from the standard of care expected of a prudent and diligent person. As such, Mr. Scrocca was found guilty under Section 219 of the Criminal Code (Canada), which provides that a person that shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of another person in omitting to do anything that is his duty is criminally negligent. The Court also invoked Subsection 217.1 of the Criminal Code, which provides that everyone who undertakes or has the authority to direct how another person does work is under a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to that person. Section 217.1 of the Criminal Code was introduced in 2004 with the objective of ensuring the health and safety of employees in the workplace and imposing a legal obligation upon those people responsible for supervising work performed. This provision complements Section 51 of An Act Respecting Occupational Health and Safety (Quebec), which provides that every employer must take the necessary measures to protect the health and ensure the safety and physical well-being of its workers. Moreover, the Criminal Code provides that organizations may be held liable when acts or omissions by their representatives are clearly negligent.

The Court imposed a conditional sentence of imprisonment of two years less a day. The sentence will be served in the community with conditions, including a curfew

The Criminal Code provides that in the case of criminal negligence causing death, the maximum penalty for individuals is life in prison and there is no maximum fine for organizations.

This case serves as a reminder to employers and their senior officers and representatives of the significant liability that may be incurred as a result of breaches of occupational health and safety standards.

Texting While Walking - Workplace Hazard?

Many of you may have heard about or seen the video of the lady walking in a mall while texting and she walked right into the mall fountain. Tripped over the edge of the fountain and fell in face first. Mall security apparently posted a copy of the security videio on youtube and it went viral.

So it got me thinking, since the whole issue of texting while driving, that walking and texting while at work for work related activity is not much different. There have been serious accidents and fatalities related to people walking into traffic and get struck by a vehicle as well as walking into other objects. If the person was an employee who had been issued the mobile phone by the employer for work purposes and was texting or responding to work related emails when the accident occurred - does this result in a "work related accident"? Is this a compensation claim? Is the employer legally liable?

For all employers out there, if the issue of employer vicarious liability holds true for driving while texting, why would it not apply to work related walking and texting?

Due diligence would dictate that an employer should establish strict documented rules for the use of company issued mobile phones. Those rules must be communicated to employees and enforced. The communication and enforcement must be well documented.

What do you think?

Ontario MOL - Consolidation of Accident Report Requirements under the OHSA

The Ontario MOL is proposing to revoke the Report and Notice Requirements prescribed in the seven regulations and consolidating and harmonizing them in a single regulation.

There would be no substantive changes to the Report and Notice Requirements beyond those needed to harmonize the differences in the current requirements among the seven regulations.

If approved, the proposed consolidated regulation would come into effect on July 1, 2011.

Click here for Proposal Details.

Ontario MOL - Confined Spaces Consolidation Proposal

The Ontario MOL has released a proposal to consolidate into one regulation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) all regulatory requirements that apply when work is to be done in or in relation to a confined space, which requirements are currently found in five different regulations.

These proposed changes will not significantly affect worker protections or employer obligations regarding confined spaces. Rather, consolidating all of these requirements into one regulation will increase accessibility and transparency of these provisions. The Ministry proposes that the amendments be implemented in 2011.

Click here for Proposal details.

Ontario Health and Safety Legislative Update

As a service to my blog followers I will try to keep you updated on what is happening in the world of health and safety so here is a good start.

Health and Safety Professionals or those repsonsible for health and safety in their organizations should know that on November 5, 2010, the Ontario government filed a number of regulatory amendments under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, including:


• O. Reg. 419/10, amending Table 1 of Regulation 833 of the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 (Control of Exposure to Biological or Chemical Agents); and

• O. Reg. 420/10, amending Regulation 851 (Industrial Establishments).

The regulations are now in force. Your comments on the value of the blog posting and what you would like to know about are always appreciated.

A Health and Safety Resource for the Non Health & Safety Professional

As we enter 2011 I was pondering on how to bring value to my blog, and it donned on me why not provide advice and information for the non health and safety professional. What I mean by that is those of you that are working in organizations that are responsible for managing the health and safety aspects of the organization but are not really experts or have the knowledge to really undertake that responsibility. Some examples would be all the human resources professionals in companies that don't have a health and safety person so they are given that role as part of HR, restaurant owners whose expertise is to run a restaurant not health and safety, small retail owners whose expertise is to run a store not health and safety, a senior manager like a VP or a controller for a small business whose expertise is to run the company or manage the finances not health and safety. Those are just some examples I have run into over my years in the health and safety profession. So why not dedicate a blog to help people in those types of organizations.


Deciding that is the easy part, but how to let people know it exists and has some value that is the more challenging part. So I will be working on getting the word out to everyone I know who may find this blog of value, and if you read this blog I would sure appreciate your help in letting your network of colleagues know about it. Most important of all I would like your feedback on what information you need and would find valuable in your work related to health and safety.

I will endeavour to continue to provide valuable information to help those in need manage health and safety withing their organizations. As always your feedback will be critical and of greatly appreciated.

Ontario OHS Expert Advisory Panel Report

Well the long awaited report from the Expert Advisory Panel on Health and Safety, led by Tony Dean, released the results of its review of Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety System.

The panel consulted wide variety of stakeholders for their input about how to improve the prevention system. The panel has made significant recommendations for improving both the structure of the system and its work.

The recommendations include:

• The establishment of a new prevention organization, housed in the Ministry of Labour, and an associated council of stakeholders. The health and safety associations would align with this new entity.

• A strong emphasis on training, including mandatory awareness training for workers, supervisors, and health and safety representatives.

• A special focus on high-risk work, vulnerable workers, and small business.

• New efforts to combat the underground economy.

• Tougher penalties for willful violators.

For a copy of the report click here