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/ Quebec 2018 – R. v. Fournier Copy

Quebec 2018 – R. v. Fournier Copy

Worker buried: His boss convicted of manslaughter

April 2012

Fatal accident

  • Sylvain Fournier and his employee Gilles Lévesque dig a trench in front of a Lachine residence to connect a water line.
  • The two men are standing at the bottom of the trench, whose sides had not been shored up as required by the Act respecting occupational health and safety.
  • Landslides in the trench walls completely bury Lévesque. Fournier is trapped to the waist.
  • Help arrives but it takes a long time to free Lévesque who dies of craniocerebral trauma.
  • The accused’s behaviour was an illegal action, a clear breach of the obligations stated in the Safety Code for the Construction Industry.

Judge’s findings

  • Sylvain Fournier had not followed the regulations designed to protect his employees.
  • The accused’s behaviour was an illegal action, a clear breach of the obligations stated in the Safety Code for the Construction Industry.
  • According to an expert, Fournier’s work method was not safe, prudent or reasonable: the slopes of the excavation were too steep; no system was used to shore up the sides of the trench to prevent it from crumbling; and the excavated material was piled up too close to the trench.
  • The situation was called “scary” by an inspector of the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité au travail.
  • The judge concluded that, given the reported conditions at the worksite, the risk of bodily harm was « obvious ».

Sept. 2018

Verdict

  • The Court of Quebec, Criminal and Penal Division, sentenced Fournier to 18 months in prison.
  • It was a first in Quebec in the area of occupational health and safety.

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