Court Bulletin
January 8, 2020
Convicted: Rayonier
A.M. Canada Industries Inc., 4 Place Ville-Marie, Ste. 100, Montreal, Quebec,
owner and operator of a softwood lumber mill in Chapleau, Ontario. Rayonier
acquired the mill from Tembec Industries Inc., which operated the mill under
the name Ryam Lumber, on May 31, 2018.
Location: The
company's lumber mill at 175 Planer Road, Chapleau.
Description of Offence: A
worker was killed while operating a loader with fork attachments.
Date of Offence: May 25,
2018.
Date of Conviction: January
8, 2020.
Penalty Imposed:
- Following a guilty plea, Rayonier A.M. Canada
Industries Inc. was fined $250,000 in provincial offences court in
Chapleau by Justice of the Peace Nathalie Breton; Crown Counsel Wes
Wilson.
- The court also imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine
surcharge as required by the Provincial
Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special
provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
Background:
- A worker was tasked with removing bundles of wood
from the lumber mill's kiln and placing them in the yard. There was no
eye witness to the incident.
- It is believed that a load of wood had been placed in
the yard and that the worker had reversed the loader, then gotten out of
the machine to place three "crossers" (small pieces of wood)
on the pile, so as to create a space between the original bundle and the
next bundle to be placed on top of it.
- Two crossers were placed, and given their positioning
and the length of the wood bundle involved, it is believed that the
worker was in the process of placing a third crosser.
- The loader rolled forward and pinned the worker
between the loader and the wood bundle.
- The worker died as a result of the subsequent
injuries.
- Inspection of the loader revealed no mechanical
defects to the braking system. However, it was determined that the brake
actuator had been modified by the addition of a spring which made the
parking brake easier to release.
- It was determined in the (then) Ministry of Labour's
investigation that the forks of the loader had not been lowered securely
to the ground, but rather had been resting on an 8" x 8" beam
used to indicate where lumber bundles were to be placed.
- The loader had been parked on ground that sloped
toward the wood bundle that had previously been deposited. The slope was
found to be 6.3 per cent on the left side of the loader and 5.6 per cent
on the right side.The ground was uneven, with deep ruts in the soil. No
wheel chocks had been applied to the loader's wheels.
- Rayonier A.M. Canada Industries Inc. pleaded guilty
to failing as an employer to ensure that the measures and procedures
prescribed in section 57 of Ontario's Regulation
851 (the Industrial
Establishments Regulation) were carried out in the
workplace, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety
Act -that
is, that a vehicle left unattended shall be immobilized and secured
against accidental movement.
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