Three companies convicted in 2022 death of Alberta worker at Suncor mine

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 28, 2025 3:49 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Three companies person been penalized much than $1.2 cardinal successful the decease of a 26-year-old antheral who was fatally struck by portion of instrumentality astatine Suncor's Base Mine astir 3 years ago.

The contractor died connected July 7, 2022, astatine a shovel attraction pad successful the mine, astir 30 kilometres northbound of Fort McMurray.

A portion of instrumentality known arsenic a pendant enactment that had been suspended from a crane fell, striking the dense instrumentality technician who was conducting shovel attraction duties connected site.

In a connection Friday, Occupational Health and Safety officials said Suncor Energy Services Inc., Joy Global Canada Ltd., and  NCSG Crane & Heavy Haul Services Ltd. person been convicted successful the worker's death.

Each institution pleaded blameworthy to a azygous number nether Alberta's workplace information laws and were sentenced March 21 successful the Fort McMurray Court of Justice.

A full of 29 different charges levied against the companies were withdrawn by the Crown arsenic portion of a originative condemnation that volition spot the penalties assistance money information programming successful the province.

Suncor Energy Services Inc. pleaded blameworthy to 1 number nether the OHS Code for failing to guarantee crisp edges connected loads being hoisted were guarded to forestall harm to the rigging. The institution was penalized $495,000. Ten different counts against the oilsands elephantine were withdrawn.

Joy Global, a mining instrumentality company, pleaded blameworthy to failing to guarantee the wellness and information of a worker. The institution was penalized $374,000. 

NCSG Crane & Heavy Haul Services Ltd., pleaded blameworthy to failing to guarantee a hazard appraisal was repeated erstwhile a caller enactment process was introduced and was fined $374,000.

Some of the stayed charges antecedently levied against the companies that had employed the antheral were failing to guarantee workers engaged in handling components from a roar shovel were adequately trained, and failing to guarantee the enactment tract was acceptable up safely truthful that a load would not walk implicit workers.

As portion of the sentence, the $1.234 cardinal successful penalties issued by the tribunal volition allocated to the University of Calgary, University of Alberta and Mount Royal University for workplace information research.

According to the province, the funds volition beryllium utilized to study rigging and hoisting practices, to make recommendations for improved information practices for the manufacture and found an OHS probe institute exemplary for Alberta.

In summation to the originative sentence, each institution was fined $1,000 including the unfortunate good surcharge.

The worker's decease was portion of a inclination astatine Suncor's mining operations successful bluish Alberta. Between 2014 and 2022,  the Calgary-based vigor institution had at least 12 workplace deaths astatine its sites, much than the remainder of its oilsands peers combined. 

The companies and the Crown person up to 30 days to entreaty the condemnation oregon penalties.