N. Devlin

A helicopter operated by an air ambulance service crashed shortly after takeoff from Moosonee, Ontario on May 31, 2013, killing four crew members.

The Crown charged the operator with six counts under the Canada Labour Code, alleging failure to ensure employee safety.

At trial, three counts remained: two alleging failure to provide pilots with means to maintain visual reference while operating at night (counts 3 and 4), and one alleging failure to provide adequate supervision by eliminating the Base Manager position (count 10).

The Crown argued that night vision goggles should have been provided.

The court found that while the crash was caused by controlled flight into terrain, the defendant exercised due diligence and complied with all regulatory requirements.

All three counts were dismissed.

The appellant appealed his conviction from the Ontario Court of Justice on the grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel.

The Court of Appeal found that the ineffective assistance of counsel undermined the validity of the verdict and resulted in unfair trial procedures constituting a miscarriage of justice.

The Crown conceded the appeal.

The conviction was set aside and a new trial was ordered.

The defendant corporation brought a motion to quash counts 10 and 11 of an information charging it with offences under the Canada Labour Code.

The defendant argued the counts were defective because they failed to specify which prescribed regulations had been breached, contrary to the principles established in R v Wis Developments.

The Crown sought to amend the counts to allege breaches of section 124 rather than section 125 of the Act.

The court found the counts were fatally deficient in failing to identify the specific regulations allegedly breached, but permitted amendment to reframe the charges under section 124 as a single statutory duty to ensure employee health and safety, rather than specific regulatory violations.