City of Regina fined $100K for incident that left worker seriously injured

The City of Regina announced Wednesday it was fined $100,000 after pleading guilty in Provincial Court regarding one violation of the Saskatchewan Health and Safety Act for an incident in December 2020.

According to the city, a large shipment of bus shelter glass was being unloaded in a shipment container when it fell onto a city employee causing them to suffer serious injuries.

“At the time, the city did not have the right safety practices and policies in place to protect the worker,” executive director of financial strategy and sustainability Barry Lacey said.

Lacey described the space where the crate was being unloaded as “limited” and said there was nowhere for the employee to go when the crate fell.

The city launched an internal investigation following the incident.

“[We] cooperated fully with the province’s occupational health and safety investigation,” Lacey said.

The city would not disclose the nature of the injuries the employee suffered, citing personal information. Lacey said the individual is no longer an employee with the City of Regina.

“The City of Regina extends a public apology to this individual who was injured on the job, accepts responsibility for the unsafe conditions that led to the injuries and remains fully committed to protecting the health and safety of its workers,” Lacey said.

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Lacey said the city has since changed its procedures for the unloading of glass bus shelters.

“It must be done in a safe and open area,” he said. “Training requirements in respect to particular procedures to take when unpacking that glass have been updated to make sure the handling of glass is documented and employees have the proper training to do so.”

The city does not budget for health and safety fines.

“Safety is a priority for our organization,” Lacey said. “We will have to find efficiencies and savings in our overall budget to pay the fine.”