The video is a little inflammatory and misleading (it was produced by an International Union after all) but there are some valid observations that it makes.
Federal bill C45 (which it is more commonly referred to not The Westray Law) was enacted in the aftermath of the methane explosion that killed 26 miners in 1992. Both the government of Nova Scotia and the mine operator, Curragh Resources, are culpable in these deaths as both parties played major roles in failing to put adequate safety systems in place, willfully overseeing a deteriorating safety culture and taking insufficient actions in cases where industry standard procedures were systematically side stepped in the furtherance of increased production.
Fifty some charges were laid against the mine operator under NS OHS legislation and all of them were subsequently withdrawn because the judge thought that proceeding would jeopardize potential criminal charges against the mine managers. Amazing. The subsequent criminal charges against two managers were also withdrawn for lack of evidence. So, by the time the smoke cleared, 26 guys were dead and no one was responsible. Not the corporation, not the government and no individuals even though, a later inquiry found, there was evidence of not only negligence but criminality. There was lots of legal maneuvering in this case that resulted in the accountable people not being held accountable.
As the video says, C45 has been a relatively toothless piece of legislation (which the producers of the video were warned it would likely become) since its enactment but it has, theoretically, provided some tools to deal with corporations whose 'directing minds' don't fly straight. In ten years since its enactment there have been 10 or so prosecutions and a handful of convictions. Only one person has been sentenced to jail time and that's under appeal.
One fundamental problem is that C45 overlaps Provincial jurisdiction as OHS is a provincial responsibility constitutionally (except for federally regulated industries). Many perceived the bill to be federal government posturing at the time anyway. That said, where the law could be helpful, if it were used in appropriate circumstances, is providing prosecutors with a means to deal with cowards like the owners of Curragh who refused to cooperate with NS authorities, hid out in Ontario and refused to testify. With C45 the law could hit anyone in Canada and not have the restrictions of Provincial OHS laws. And with open ended penalty provisions the consequences of conviction have the potential to be severe although they seldom are.
The second issue, and probably more important, is its very rare that the actions or inaction's of a corporate executive can be traced directly to the outcome of a given workplace incident with the result being a criminal charge and a conviction if the facts warrant. OHS prosecutions almost always focus on the conditions of the work site & equipment and the actions of field level personnel. Its only been relatively recently where prosecutors have looked seriously at management systems, corporate decision making, industry best practices, etc.
C45 appears to be long on good intentions but has not proven to be very valuable legislation in application.
|
