Rec centre demo injuries bring charges
Arctic Environmental Services Ltd. and Clark Builders face allegations
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Monday, August 21, 2017
HAY RIVER
The Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC) has filed six charges in territorial court in relation to a July 26, 2016, incident in which a worker was injured during demolition of the Don Stewart Recreation Centre.
The charges were filed on July 25 under the Northwest Territories' Safety Act, and announced in an Aug. 11 news release from the commission.
Arctic Environmental Services Ltd. of St. Albert, Alta., and Robert Valleau, the company's president, are charged with multiple counts which allege various offences under the Safety Act and the occupational health and safety regulations.
The alleged offences include:
- Failing to provide information, instruction, training, and supervision that is necessary to protect the health and safety of workers;
- Failing to provide an occupational health and safety program that included an identification of hazards that could endanger workers at a worksite, specifically scissor-lifts;
- Failing to provide an occupational health and safety program that included a procedure to review, and if necessary, revise the occupational health and safety program not less than once every three years;
- Failing to ensure that all supervisors had sufficient knowledge of any occupational health and safety program applicable to workers supervised at the worksite; and
- Failing to ensure that all supervisors had completed an approved regulatory familiarization program.
Clark Builders of Yellowknife is also charged with one offence, alleging failure to ensure that the work was sufficiently and competently supervised.
The first court appearance on the matter is scheduled for Sept. 18 in Hay River.
Just after the accident last year, a WSCC spokesperson confirmed a worker was injured at the site while operating a scissor-lift.
The old rec centre was being torn down at the time to make way for a new one, which is scheduled to be complete in December.
While headquartered in St. Albert, Arctic Environmental Services Ltd. has resident staff in the NWT and Yukon.
