The B. C. government has been fined more than $700,000 after an inspection determined that unsafe wildfire mitigation practices were taking place at a site in the northeastern component of the province.
The fine imposed on October 26, 2023, through WorkSafeBC, the provincial company promoting healthy workplaces across British Columbia, is $710,488. 79, the highest fine ever imposed, according to the company, and the maximum amount allowed for 2022, the year of the incident. Happened.
WorkSafeBC’s report says it discovered evidence of damaging cuts near Wonowon, about 80 kilometers northwest of Fort St. John’s. John, B. C. , says the province, which she calls “the employer,” has not verified the certification of slaughterhouses or actively monitored the paintings as needed.
More major points about the report are expected to be released Thursday, according to WorkSafeBC, but the province says no injuries have been linked to the investigation.
“As a forest owner, the employer failed to ensure that all activities were planned and conducted in a manner consistent with regulatory requirements and appropriate painting practices for WorkSafeBC,” the penalty states.
WorkSafeBC says this is the second fine imposed on the province in the past 10 years, the first in 2019 for $5,574. 53 after a worker was seriously injured while installing a remote weather station at Loon Lake in the Cariboo region.
In a statement to CBC News, the Forestry Ministry said it was “disappointed” by what happened, but plans to appeal the fine.
“Our view is that the amount of the penalty imposed is arbitrary and disproportionately high, as the penalty was calculated using the entire payroll of the British Columbia government so we believe it is a violation in an express place,” he said.
The province said the painter was a subcontractor, not a provincial employee. It adds that the work in question took place between December 2022 and January 2023.
The statutory maximum penalty is adjusted each year: $710,488. 79 in 2022, $759,368. 84 in 2023 and set at $783,068. 26 for 2024, according to WorkSafeBC.
The agency’s penalty amounts are based on the employer’s payroll amount and the nature of the violation, but it says more serious consequences can be imposed in high-risk cases or if the employer has been penalized for something similar in the past three years.
Wildfires have ravaged Wonowon in recent summers, in addition to the massive 6,190-square-kilometer Donnie Creek Wildfire, the largest ever recorded in the province’s history, which ravaged northeastern British Columbia last year.
The ministry said it was working with contractors and subcontractors to make sure certain protection criteria were met.
The province says contractors will need to be qualified as a Safety Agreement Forestry Company, which means they will have their own protection systems to comply with WorkSafeBC regulations.
Journalist
Courtney Dickson is a journalist in Vancouver, B.C. Email her at [email protected] with story tips.
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