A new training program will help police, Crown prosecutors, and occupational health and safety regulators across the country recognize when a workplace death crosses into criminal negligence.
Rob Stewart, the lead developer, says the course is built “to expose the corporate black box of culture.”
“Look at how decisions are being made, and then who is responsible for creating that environment.”
Stewart is consulting director for the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund, a foundation created in memory of a Calgary Police Service constable who died in the line of duty.
He says the purpose of this program goes beyond putting people in jail; the main focus is deterrence.
“There is no prevention without accountability,” he says. “[In] Canada, sadly, our accountability is very weak.”
Calgary Police Service Deputy Chief Cliff O’Brien traces this initiative to a 2009 incident.
Michelle Krsek was three years old when she was struck and killed by a 250-kilogram bundle of metal, which had flown off the roof of an 18-storey construction site in downtown Calgary.
Michelle Krsek, 3, was killed on Aug. 1, 2009, when she was struck by a sheet of metal that fell from an 18-storey building under construction. (Calgary Sun)
After an investigation by the Calgary Police Service, no criminal charges were laid.
“Even to this day it’s emotional for us,” O’Brien says. “As a service, we wanted to do something different, we wanted to do something better.”
SAIT award honours Michelle Krsek, killed by falling debris
Over the next decade, the Calgary Police Service committed to developing a new protocol for investigating workplace deaths through a criminal lens. The Krsek Protocol, named after Michelle, rolled out in 2017.
Although Michelle’s case was prominent in this shift, O’Brien says it’s not an isolated incident.
Statistics from the Government of Canada show that over the last two decades, the number of workplace fatalities in Canada has remained the same, averaging at about 1,000 deaths per year.
He says this protocol provides a comprehensive framework for combining criminal code, organizational safety management systems, and human decision-making to reduce workplace fatalities.
Stewart was brought in to support the training and implementation of this protocol, which began in person. Through eight years of upgrading, it was developed into an online curriculum.
The program seeks to utilize the 2004 Westray Law. Named after the 1992 Westray mine disaster in Nova Scotia that killed 26 workers, the law allows corporations, directors and managers to be held criminally liable for workplace deaths and injuries.
It changed the Criminal Code to state that anyone in authority must take reasonable steps to keep workers safe. And as a result, senior decision-makers can be held responsible for unsafe working conditions that lead to serious injuries or fatalities.
In a statement, Canada’s Department of Justice said the federal government is committed to upholding healthy and safe workplaces across the country, and have taken steps to ensure the Westray provisions are applied effectively.
“We have worked closely with the Canadian Congress, employee representatives, employers, senior officials responsible for criminal law, and the provinces and territories to fulfill this commitment,” reads the statement.
The Department of Justice says the government has developed training resources for law enforcement, regulatory inspectors and Crown prosecutors on the topic of serious workplace injuries and fatalities.
Yet critics claim the Westray Law is still underutilized.
Andy LaDouceur, a health, safety and environment co-ordinator for United Steel Workers, says investigators were not appropriately taught how to best use these provisions.
“We aren’t faulting the police for not doing these investigations; we are faulting the government for passing legislation and doing nothing with it.”
He says because workplace incidents involve multiple different agencies, including police, prosecutors and safety inspectors, poor co-ordination keeps conviction rates low.
“It seems like in society, we just accept that you go to work and depending on where you work, there’s risks, and that those risks are part of the job. But they’re not,” he says.
“Calgary has been ahead of the game on this.”
United Steel Workers is funding the development of the e-learning course based on the Calgary Police Service’s workshop.
LaDouceur hopes the national rollout of this training will improve accountability regarding workplace incidents and how they are investigated.
Stewart says the course is undergoing a final operational review, and he hopes it will be available in the first week of December. It will be offered through the Canadian Police Knowledge Network, a non-profit dedicated to police learning.
