WorkSafeBC hits province with $783K penalty for music fest traffic safety violations

WorkSafeBC has issued a penalty of $783,068.26 to the provincial government for "high-risk" worker safety violations outside a popular electronic music festival in B.C.'s Interior.

The penalty, imposed in late January, was for a July 29, 2024, incident involving the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI) staff outside Shambhala near Salmo, B.C..

An online summary and an inspection report paint a picture of provincial employees — without appropriate training or precautions — taking over traffic control work from a contracted company.

Neither the summary nor the report mention any injuries as a result of the incident, but the penalty approaches WorkSafe's statutory maximum for 2025 of $798,867.87.

The ministry acknowledges that its staff did not have the appropriate training or personal protective equipment for traffic control duties but says their actions were driven by the need to address an "imminent safety risk to the travelling public."

A spokesperson wrote in an email that heavy traffic departing the festival led to a three-kilometre traffic jam, blocking highway access to emergency vehicles and creating "potential for frustrated drivers to make unsafe decisions."

"The ministry is reviewing the penalty associated with this incident and may request further review of it," the spokesperson wrote.

'High-risk violations'

The festival, WorkSafe's report states, hired a contractor to develop a traffic management plan and control traffic during the event. WorkSafe added Shambhala attendance may have eclipsed 21,000 in 2024.

The report went on to say that two workers from a regional ministry office in Nelson visited the "east gate" of the festival, where traffic from the festival entered Highway 3. 

"The representatives from MoTI were not satisfied that traffic was being controlled in a manner consistent with MoTI's expectations," the report reads, but the on-site contractor "withdrew their workers as they did not believe this work was safe to perform in the way that MoTI was directing them."

The contractor took photos and reported their concerns to WorkSafeBC, the report said. Ministry workers then began directing traffic on their own.

It notes the traffic control work "exposed the workers to high volumes of traffic."

"WorkSafeBC determined the ministry workers were not trained [traffic control persons] and had been directing traffic from an unsafe position on the highway," the incident summary notes.

"The employer also failed to provide its workers with the information, instruction, training, and supervision necessary to ensure their health and safety," the summary concludes, calling those "high-risk violations."

Ministry claims 'imminent safety risk to the travelling public'

The ministry, in a statement, admitted its workers did not have the appropriate training or precautions in place but adds they only intervened "to ensure the safe flow of traffic on Highway 6 during the Shambala Music Festival, responding to an emergency situation that quickly arose when a designated traffic control person from a private company failed to perform their duties.

"Their actions were driven by the need to address the imminent safety risk to the travelling public," the statement read. 

A spokesperson for the contractor, which is not subject to the penalty, denied its workers did anything wrong and insisted they followed an approved traffic management plan.

The ministry says the incident will lead to a reinforcing of expectations for its staff when it comes to safety and emergency protocols.

"A detailed action plan is underway to ensure accountability and provide lessons for better handling of similar situations in the future," the statement read.

WorkSafe says any proceeds from administrative penalties will be deposited in its accident fund to pay for injury costs in the current and prior years.

It says the dollar amount of a penalty is influenced by the assessed employer's payroll and the nature of the violation.