Buckhorn Sand & Gravel Inc., a company based in Trent Lakes, Ont., has been fined $200,000 following a workplace incident that resulted in the death of one worker and critical injuries to another.
The incident occurred at the company’s limestone quarry on Bass Line Road in Bobcaygeon on May 10, 2022. The fine was imposed after the company pleaded guilty to charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
According to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, the incident happened when two workers were attempting to start a fuel truck used in the quarry operations. The truck’s rear access platform became lodged on a flat rock, preventing it from moving. The workers planned to use another service truck to pull the fuel truck off the rock using a chain. While one worker crawled under the fuel truck to attach the chain, the other was assisting with attaching the chain to the service truck.
The ministry’s investigation revealed that after the fuel truck’s engine was started, the air system inflated the rear suspension airbags, causing the rear of the truck to rise. This allowed the truck to move forward, fatally injuring the worker under the truck and critically injuring the other.
The investigation also found that at the time of the incident, the fuel truck was in forward gear, the brakes were not engaged, and no one was in the cab of the vehicle. Buckhorn Sand & Gravel Inc. was found to have failed to ensure that measures and procedures prescribed by section 105(1)(i) of Regulation 845 (Mining Regulation) were followed, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The company was convicted on April 15, 2024, in Provincial Offences Court in Peterborough. Justice of the Peace Mark Donahue imposed the $200,000 fine, and Crown Counsel Giuseppe Ferraro represented the case. Additionally, a 25 percent victim fine surcharge was levied, as mandated by the Provincial Offences Act. This surcharge is allocated to a special provincial government fund to support victims of crime.