SMS Equipment Ltd. will have to pay $200,000 to the Worker’s Protection Fund after pleading guilty to failing to ensure the health and safety of a worker who died nearly two years ago.
The worker was fatally injured at the Gahcho Kue Mine after being pinned by moving parts of a haul truck when inspecting the ladder hydraulics. Despite life-saving efforts, the worker died from their injuries.
“There were no hazard recognition or warning signs of a pinch point, and SMS did not conduct its own workplace safety inspection of the haul truck,” states Shannon Moore, the communications officer of the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC), in a media release.
Following an investigation, WSCC originally filed seven charges against the company in violation of both the Safety Act and the Mine Health and Safety Act on August 25, 2023. However, these charges were put on hold.
SMS Equipment Ltd. pleaded guilty to one offence under the Safety Act at the NWT’s Territorial Court in Yellowknife on July 26, 2024.
