Wyman's fined $80K for not maintaining tractor that killed long-time worker in eastern P.E.I.
Blueberry company pleads guilty to charge under Occupational Health and Safety Act
Island blueberry grower and processor Jasper Wyman & Son Canada Inc. will have to pay $80,000 after pleading guilty to a charge stemming from the death of a long-time employee who was run over by his own work tractor.
Wyman's pleaded guilty to one charge under the Occupational Health and Safety Act in Georgetown provincial court on Thursday.
The court heard that Carter Brent Affleck, 68, was changing an attachment on a tractor in a cleared area on the MacKinnon Road in the Lorne Valley area near Cardigan on Sept. 23, 2024. His supervisor drove by and stopped to help.
They adjusted the tractor together and the supervisor watched Affleck walk around it.
The supervisor then noticed that the tractor was moving slowly, but the driver's seat was empty. He found Affleck pinned under one of its tires, unresponsive, and called 911.
RCMP officers, the Cardigan Fire Department, Island EMS, the coroner and an occupational health and safety officer from the Workers Compensation Board all went to the scene where Affleck was pronounced dead.
The cause was later determined to be blunt force trauma to the chest.
Occupational health and safety officials issued stop-work orders against several pieces of equipment on the site, and seized the tractor to be inspected.
"The inspection report identified the tractor was in poor condition with all safety circuits bypassed," said an agreed statement of facts filed in Georgetown court.
"There were no brakes or emergency brakes functioning, among other issues, and the tractor was able to move when the propulsion lever was in neutral."
After finishing the investigation, the Crown's office worked with the Workers Compensation Board to decide which charges to lay.
There was basically no operational safety equipment working.— John Diamond
In this case, the sole charge under the Occupational Health and Safety Act was for not properly maintaining equipment that was to be used by a worker.
"There was basically no operational safety equipment working," Crown attorney John Diamond told the court, saying the tractor should not have been in use.
Diamond and the company's lawyer, Gordon MacKay, submitted a joint recommendation for the punishment to Judge Nancy Orr: a $5,000 fine and a $75,000 penalty payable to the Workers Compensation Board to promote work-safe education.
Diamond said $80,000 was appropriate based on the size of the company and the fact that fines in small provinces like P.E.I. are usually in this range, rather than the $100,000 to $200,000 fines a company could face in Ontario.
"It's not a large employer," he said of Wyman's. "It doesn't compare to Vanco or Cavendish Farm, but it is a large enough business to recognize the compliance with the OHS program that is mandated by the legislation."
'Traumatic' for company, employees
The company's general manager in P.E.I., Wade Dover, was also in court.
"This of course is a very, very tragic matter and very traumatic to the whole Wyman's family … the employees," MacKay told Orr.
MacKay told the court the company has had many meetings with its workers in the days, weeks and months after Affleck's death. It has been offering grief counselling, and continues to be in communication with Affleck's family.
The company also:
- Named the field where Affleck died in his memory.
- Hired a third party to assess its safety practices and has a new protocol of hiring third-party inspectors for equipment every two years (MacKay noted that Affleck had been the sole operator of that tractor for 12 years before it killed him).
- Hired someone to implement its workplace safety program and is in the process of hiring a safety officer.
"It's certainly positive to hear the steps the company has taken," Orr said, while noting it was a shame it took a death to make it happen.
"When we have a fatality, [as] in this case, there is no value we can put on a loss of life."
Statement from WCB
After CBC News asked the Workers Compensation Board for comment about the case, it sent an email statement.
"Since this fatal incident, the WCB's OHS Division has been working with the employer involved to enhance their required occupational health and safety program," the statement said in part.
"It's important to note that in P.E.I., workers have the legal right to refuse unsafe work, including in situations involving dangerous equipment."
The statement added: "We continue to extend our sincere condolences to the deceased's family, friends and coworkers on the loss of their family, community member and colleague."
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