2 Sask. companies get 5-figure fines for workplace injuries

Two Saskatchewan companies were each fined thousands of dollars after pleading guilty in provincial court to separate occupational health and safety regulations violations that led to workplace injuries, the province said in a news release Monday.

A numbered company, 101063698 Saskatchewan Ltd., was fined a total of $24,000 after pleading guilty to two counts of violating the provincial Occupation Health and Safety Regulations, 1996.

On Aug. 13, 2018, a worker was injured working on a platform attached to a forklift at a work site in Turtle Lake, Sask., located roughly 205 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.

The company was charged with being an employer or contractor that failed to ensure that no work, materials or equipment of any kind were within the minimum distance from any exposed energized conductor, resulting in the serious injury of an employee.

It was also charged with being an employer or contractor that failed to ensure that all work being done at a site was "sufficiently and competently supervised," resulting a the serious injury of a worker.

On Nov. 3, 2020, the company pleaded guilty to both charges while in provincial court in St. Walburg, Sask., a town about 235 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon. The company was fined $8,571.43 with a surcharge of $3,428.57 for each violation.

Meanwhile, Rosengren Farms had to pay $11,900 for a workplace injury that occurred on Halloween 2018.

A worker in Midale, Sask., a city just over 145 kilometres southeast of Regina, was seriously injured while a pallet was being lifted on Oct. 31, 2018.

Rosengren Farms was charged with being an employer that failed to provide the necessary information, training and supervision to protect employees' health and safety, and it resulted in the serious injury of a worker.

The company pleaded guilty to the charge while in provincial court in Estevan, Sask., on Oct. 26, 2020.

Rosengren Farms was fined $8,500 with a surcharge of $3,400.

Anyone looking to report an occupational health and safety incident to the Saskatchewan government can do so by calling 1-800-567-7233.