Eastway Tank, Pump & Meter and owner Neil Greene charged by Ministry of Labour
Ontario’s Ministry of Labour laid three health and safety act charges against Eastway Tank, Pump & Meter and its owner, after six workers were killed on the job last year.
The charges come in the lead up to the anniversary of the incident, which happened on January 13, 2022 at the tanker manufacturer’s site in Ottawa.
Kayla Ferguson, Rick Bastien, Etienne Mabiala, Danny Beale, and Russell McLellan lost their lives in an explosion and fire. It took firefighters more than four hours to bring the blaze under control. It’s considered one of the worst workplace accidents in Ontario in the last 50 years.
The charges have been laid under the Occupational Health & Safety Act and allege Eastway Tank and its owner Neil Greene, who is identified as the company’s director in court documents obtained by CTV News, failed to ensure the company’s “wet testing” of tanker trucks was done in a way that would not produce explosive vapour, and in an area without a potential source of ignition.
The OHSA charges are not criminal, but individuals can be jailed for up to one year and be fined as much as $100,000. Corporations can be fined up to $1.5 million.
The company is facing the following three charges.
- Count 1: ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by section 63(c) of O. Reg 851/90 were carried out in a workplace located at 1995 Merivale Road, Ottawa, Ontario, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O 1990, c.O.1.
- Count 2: take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker at a workplace located at 1995 Merivale Road, Ottawa, Ontario, contrary to section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O 1990, c.O.1.
- Count 3: provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker to protect the health and safety of the worker, in a workplace located at 1995 Merivale Road, Ottawa, Ontario, contrary to section 25(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O 1990, c.O.1.
Greene faces the following three charges:
- Count 4: take all reasonable care to ensure that the corporation complied with section 63(c) of O. Reg 851/90 in a workplace located at 1995 Merivale Road, Ottawa, Ontario, contrary to section 32(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O 1990, c.O.1.
- Count 5: take all reasonable care to ensure that the corporation complied with section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O 1990, c.O.1 in a workplace located at 1995 Merivale Road, Ottawa, Ontario, contrary to section 32(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O 1990, c.O.1.
- Count 6: take all reasonable care to ensure that the corporation complied with section 25(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O 1990, c.O.1, in a workplace located at 1995 Merivale Road, Ottawa, Ontario, contrary to section 32(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O 1990, c.O.1.
The ministry alleges the company and owner failed to take reasonable precautions in the workplace by ensuring the diesel fuel to be used in the wet test was not contaminated with gasoline or any other flammable liquid. Greene is also accused of not providing adequate training and supervision to workers surrounding the safe handling of storage and fuel.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
The Ontario Fire Marshall and the Ottawa Police Service are still investigating.
Following the tragedy, it was revealed a former employee sued the company following an explosion in 2008.
