Canada Labour Code Prosecution: Neptune Bulk Terminals Ltd.

The incident

On October 22, 2018, an employee of Neptune Bulk Terminals (Canada) Ltd. (Neptune), was performing cleaning and maintenance on one of Neptune’s large coal stacking machines. The employee was on a catwalk on the stacker when a section of the metal floor grating of the catwalk came loose and fell from the machine. The employee fell 17 meters to the ground and was pronounced dead at the scene by Emergency Medical Services.

Prosecution

Following an investigation by the Labour Program, charges were laid on August 20, 2020 against Neptune for contraventions of Part II of the Canada Labour Code (Code).

On May 7, 2021, Neptune pled guilty to one count of failing to ensure the health and safety of its employees, by failing to protect them against the hazard of floor grating falling from the catwalk. This was a contravention of section 124 of Part II of the Code, resulted in the death of an employee and constituted an offence under subsection 148(1) of the Code.

Neptune was ordered by the North Vancouver Provincial Court to pay a fine of $250,000.