Spiritwood Stockyards (1984) Ltd. has been fined $325,000 after pleading guilty to two violations of Saskatchewan’s Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020.
The ruling, handed down on May 14, 2024, in Spiritwood Provincial Court, addresses two serious incidents that resulted in a worker’s injury and another worker’s death.
Worker struck, injured by gate
The company admitted to contravening subsection 7-6 (1) of the regulations, which requires employers to provide approved industrial protective headwear in situations where there is a risk of head injury. This violation led to a serious injury when a worker was struck by a gate while attempting to load bulls onto a trailer on November 11, 2021.
Worker killed in fall
Spiritwood Stockyards also pleaded guilty to violating subsection 9-2 (2) of the regulations, which mandates the use of fall protection systems in areas where workers may fall three meters or more, or where there is a possibility of injury from a fall of less than three meters. This breach resulted in a fatality on Jan. 26, 2022, when a worker fell through a fiberglass skylight while clearing snow from a roof.
The Court imposed a fine of $232,142.86 with an additional surcharge of $92,857.14, bringing the total penalty to $325,000. Five additional charges were withdrawn as part of the proceedings.
