Justice of the Peace D. J. MacKinnon

A trial concerning occupational health and safety violations arising from a serious mining accident at the Cochenour Mine in Red Lake, Ontario on August 4, 2013, where a worker suffered severe injuries when rocks fell onto a Mechanized Raise Climber.

The Crown charged the employer and two supervisors with multiple violations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulation 854.

The court convicted the corporate defendant on counts relating to failure to provide training, supervision, and job task observations, and convicted the supervisors on counts relating to failure to ensure use of safety equipment and supervision.

The court dismissed charges relating to geology, loading of drill holes with ANFO, and notification of appropriate officials.

The defendant corporation was charged with six counts of operating commercial vehicles over the allowable weight during freeze-up periods under section 119(4) of the Highway Traffic Act.

The prosecution proved the elements of the offence beyond a reasonable doubt using weigh scale records from the Weyerhaeuser mill.

The defendant raised a due diligence defence, arguing it took reasonable steps to ensure compliance.

The court found the defendant guilty on all counts, holding that while the defendant implemented various measures (air gauges, driver training, a 105% target weight), these were insufficient given the known limitations of air gauges and the availability of alternative scales for verification.

The defendant was sentenced to minimum fines of $100 per count with six months to pay.