N.B. Power to stand trial in 2026 on charges in worker's death

N.B. Power will stand trial over three weeks next year on charges laid after the death of a worker south of Moncton in 2023.

Utility allegedly failed to protect employees during 2023 storm restoration

Shane Magee · CBC News · Posted: Feb 03, 2025 11:30 AM EST | Last Updated: February 3

Man in hunter's orange holding a dead bird. — Colin Hume, 47, died while on the job restoring power in Curryville, in southeastern New Brunswick, in January 2023. He was an avid outdoorsman and hunter. (Submitted by Shelley Porter)

N.B. Power will stand trial over three weeks next year on charges laid after the death of a worker south of Moncton in 2023.

The utility faces five charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act related to the workplace death of power-line technician Colin Hume on Jan. 17, 2023.

Clarence Bennett, a lawyer representing the utility, pleaded not guilty to the five charges in Moncton provincial court on Monday.

Crown prosecutor Maurice Blanchard asked for a 10-day trial, but Bennett said he expected it would require three weeks.

Judge Troy Sweet scheduled the three-week trial to start March 16, 2026.

The charges were laid in October 2024. They allege that :

N.B. Power failed to provide necessary instruction to ensure employee safety while removing ice from power lines.
Failed to provide training on clearing ice from power lines.
Failed to take every reasonable precaution to keep workers safe.
Failed to prepare a written transportation process for injured or ill workers.
Failed to provide a first aid kit at the place of employment.

A spokesperson for WorkSafeNB previously said a power pole broke while the 47-year-old and another employee were working on the line in Curryville, just off the Albert Mines Road in southeastern New Brunswick.